2012designNOTES PDF

This is the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for pub-
lication in the following source:
Sim, Jean C. Design basics : an introduction to rudimentary design ideas

and sources. (Unpublished)
This file was downloaded from: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/59034/
c Copyright 2013 Jean Sim

Published internally to QUT as a digital document available from Black-

board sites.
Notice: Changes introduced as a result of publishing processes such as

copy-editing and formatting may not be reflected in this document. For a
definitive version of this work, please refer to the published source:
An introduction to rudimentary design ideas & sources
by Dr. Jean Sim

School of Design, Queensland University of Technology
February 2012
INTRODUCTION
How to use this book

The purpose of this collection of notes is to introduce a
selection of the ideas and theories about design, and
landscape design in particular, suitable for the
beginning landscape student. This apparent mixed bag
of notes provides a cheaper introduction to the
fundamentals than having to purchase a dozen books!
But please feel free to acquire those you can!
This little booklet is also a handy reference tool – a

place to look for further information to be found in
published texts, on the Internet, and so on. But if you
want just one book that best sums things up, I would
recommend Motloch:
Motloch, John L. (2001).

Introduction to Landscape Design, 2nd
edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
On the other hand, if you want to know more about

the profession and the process of design overall,
try this new text:
Waterman, Tim (2009).

The Fundamentals of Landscape
Architecture. Lausanne, Switzerland: Ava
Publishing SA.
Who should use this

"Design Basics" notebook?
This book is recommended particularly for students in
these units:
DLB130 Landscape Design 1 and
DLB210 Landscape Design 2 and maybe
DLB310 Landscape 3
Published by
School of Design,
Queensland University of Technology,
GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Queensland. 4001. AUSTRALIA.
© Jean Sim 2012
ii Design Basics 2012

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION ............................................. ii
DESIGN #1 ................................................................ 1
VISUAL ARTS as Ordering Mechanisms ........... 1
DESIGN #2 ................................................................ 5
GEOMETRICAL Ordering Mechanisms ............. 5
DESIGN #3 .............................................................. 10
Site Volumes, Visual Landscape & Circulation 10
DESIGN #4 .............................................................. 17
Types of Design and Planning Methods .......... 17
DESIGN #5 .............................................................. 21
DESIGN AS PROBLEM SOLVING .................. 21
DESIGN #6 .............................................................. 24
S.A.F.E. Design Approach ............................. 24
DESIGN #7 .............................................................. 29
Pattern Assisted Design (PAD) ...................... 29
DESIGN #8 .............................................................. 35
CREATIVITY, DRAWING and DESIGN ........... 35
DESIGN #9 .............................................................. 38
ANTHROPOMETRY and ERGONOMICS for
DESIGNERS ................................................. 38
DESIGN #10 ............................................................ 44
Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) ................. 44
DESIGN #11 ............................................................ 46
Vision Statements, Goals & Objectives ........... 46
DESIGN #12 ............................................................ 48
BASIC LANDFORMS ..................................... 48
DESIGN #13 ............................................................ 50
STUDIO CRAFT ............................................ 50
DESIGN REFERENCES ......................... 52
TOC1= heading 6;TOC2= NORMarialHEAD; TOC3=heading2
Design Basics 2012 iii

What is Design?
"Good design is not a matter of wealth, much less of the chic,
the latest thing. It is not a matter of novelty for the sake of
novelty, but of the production of cities and houses and goods
which will best satisfy the needs of the people; their need of
practical, honest, cheap, lasting and beautiful things to use
and see in their everyday life."
[Bertram 1938:19]
Bertram, Anthony (1938). Design. Harmondsworth,

UK: Penguin Books.
WHO DESIGNS?
"All men [people] are designers. All that we do, almost all the
time, is design, for design is basic to all human activity. The
planning and patterning of any act towards a desired,
foreseeable end constitutes the design process. Any attempt
to separate design, to make it a thing-by-itself, works counter
to the inherent value of design as the primary underlying
matrix of life. Design is composing an epic poem, executing a
mural, painting a masterpiece, writing a concerto. But design
is also cleaning and reorganizing a desk drawer, pulling an
impacted tooth, baking an apple pie, choosing sides for a
back-lot baseball game, and educating a child.
Design is the conscious (and intuitive) effort to impose
meaningful order."
[Papanek 1972 (and 2000):3]
ELEGANT DESIGN
"Designers often attempt to go beyond the primary functional
requirements of method, use, need, telesis, association, and
aesthetics; they strive for a more concise statement:
precision, simplicity. In a statement so conceived, we find a
degree of aesthetic satisfaction comparable to that found in
the logarithmic spiral of a chambered nautilus, the ease of a
seagull's flight, the strength of a gnarled tree trunk, the colour
of a sunset. The particular satisfaction derived from the
simplicity of a thing can be called elegance. When we speak
of an elegant solution, we refer to something that reduces the
complex to simple…"
[Papanek 2000:26]
RESPONSIBLE DESIGN
"Design, if it is to be ecologically responsible and socially
responsive, must be revolutionary and radical in the truest
sense. It must dedicate itself to nature's principle of least
effort, in other words, maximum diversity with minimum
inventory (to use Peter Pearce's good phrase) or doing the
most with the least. That means consuming less, using things
longer and being frugal about recycling materials."
[Papanek 2000:346]
Papanek, Victor (1972). Design for the Real World:

Making to Measure. London: Thames & Hudson.
Papanek, Victor (2000). Design for the Real World:

Human Ecology and Social Change. Revised 2 nd
edition. London: Thames & Hudson.
iv Design Basics 2012

How are the elements of point, line and direction used in this
DESIGN #1 building?
DESIGN TOOLS = Visual elements +

design principles.
VISUAL ELEMENTS
point, line, 2D shape, 3D form,
colour/tone and texture
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
unity / variety, emphasis or focalisation,
balance – symmetry and asymmetry, scale,
proportion, contrast /tension, movement Former Museum, Bowen Hills, Brisbane
/rhythm, pattern
Design Tools are also known as the 2 DIMENSIONAL SHAPE
'Language of Art'. Shape is an area or surface configuration. ▲● ■
VISUAL ARTS as Ordering

Mechanisms Shape = figure, Field = ground.
Thus: figure-ground relationship (aka. positive & negative
space).
There are many ways or systems of ordering shapes and
forms that can be used by designers. Mathematical
principles are common to most, even so-called chaotic things 3 DIMENSIONAL FORM
– be they objects found in nature or made by human beings. Form is the essential structure or organisation of all
John L. Motloch considered three approaches to design parts in a work.
ordering that are reflected in these chapters: Chapter 8 3D MASS is the SOLID entity while 3D SPACE is VOID (the
Visual Arts as Ordering Mechanism (2001:134-146); Chapter stuff inside or outside the solid).
9 Geometry as Ordering Mechanism (2001:147-157); and,
Chapter 10 Circulation as Ordering Mechanism (2001:158-
183). John O. Simonds (1997) wrote of similar matters, see:
Chapter 11 Site Volumes, Chapter 12 Visible Landscape and
Chapter 13 Circulation.
Exploring the Visual Elements
The designer can manipulate Visual Elements to meet

client/user needs and to evoke certain moods. COLOUR/TONE
COLOUR is a property of light not objects.
POINT HUE = colour (wavelength)
VALUE = relative lightness & darkness
The point is the most primary of elements. Conceptually,
INTENSITY = brightness
points have no length, width, depth or direction.
TONE = light/shade or all (hue/value/intensity).
Points can imply intersection.
WARM colours = reds/yellows
COOL colours = blues/greens
Points can generate lines, circles & spheres. Mixing colours create more colours…
Primary Colours: red, yellow, blue
LINE Secondary colours: red+yellow =orange
red+blue =violet
Lines have length & direction but no width or depth.
yellow+blue =green
Line character (evokes certain human responses):
Tertiary Colours: yellow+green =chartreuse
thick line = strength
yellow+orange =gold
thin line = delicacy
red+orange =scarlet
straight line = stability
red+violet =purple
zigzag line = energetic
blue+violet =indigo
curvy line = sensuous, etc.
blue+green =turquoise
Lines imply planes and planes imply space.
Colour evokes moods, has associations and meanings,
There are also outlines and contour lines.
communicates, affects microclimate, and can be part of
See more in section DESIGN #3.
passing fashions.
Design Basics 2012 1

TEXTURE BALANCE
Texture is about surface characteristics: smooth, rough, Balance = visual resolution of forces. There are two kinds of
grained, corrugated, etc. There is tactile texture (felt by balance: symmetry or asymmetry.
touch) and visual texture (the illusion of feel).
Visual texture unifies sight and touch (acting as triggers to Symmetrical balance = aka. Formal balance:
remembering feel).
= mirror images about an axis or axes.
Asymmetrical balance = aka. Informal balance:
Exploring the Design Principles

= balance of dissimilar elements.
Design Principles govern the manipulation of visual elements

to certain effects; also, they influence the way we perceive
compositions.
Informal balance is more dynamic!
UNITY / VARIETY
UNITY or harmony implies elements in a composition belong
together. SCALE
Unity = coherent, understandable design Scale is concerned with interpreting relative size via some
Lack of unity = fragmented design unit of measure especially a human being.
Unity is created by continuity or repetition or proximity of • intimate human scale (maximum about 16 x 6m)
elements.
• human scale (about 24 x 10m)
• public human scale (about 250m wide)
• superhuman (monumental)
• extra-human, vast non-human scale of nature (desert,
sea, sky, etc.)
VARIETY provides interest.

There is a need to have unity within variety; theme within
variation e.g. vernacular architecture
Conversely, there is a need for order with hint of
spontaneity.
PROPORTION
EMPHASIS / FOCALISATION Proportion is concerned with the RELATIVE dimensions of
elements (length to width to depth). The search for a 'perfect'
Focus ATTENTION to increase excitement! proportion is ongoing. Since the times of Ancient Greece, the
Focal point (eyecatcher) = an element with a difference. 'Golden Mean' or 'Golden Section has been thought by some
as the perfect proportion.
Golden Section = 1 : 1.618034… [etc.] or phi ∅
aka. 1: (1+√5)÷2 or about 3:5
Often found in NATURE, e.g. ram's horn, nautilus shell, etc.
The Golden Mean can also be found in the mathematical
Fibonacci series = 1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144…etc. and
Eyecatcher No focal point tree + beach in Le Corbusier's 'Modular' Man proportion (see below).
= means equal.
Converging lines = focalisation or FOCUS.
Use with restraint so as not to destroy overall unity ! ISO paper series comes close (at 1: 1.414 or √ 2) but not
exactly the same.

CONTRAST / TENSION PATTERN
Tension = contrast or the opposition of various forms to Generally, repetition of motifs = pattern. This is achieved by
produce a feeling of energy and vitality. the use of lines, shapes, textures and colours.
• too much tension is not pleasant! Here are three ways to classify patterns: (not the only
• too little contrast can be boring… possible ways, mind you…):
• Dimensional patterns (using Euclidian geometry)
2D, 3D & 4D
• Figure / Ground patterns
• Tom Turner's classification of patterns into 4 types:
Primary, Secondary, Tertiary & Quaternary !
(1) Dimensional patterns

2 DIMENSIONAL = shapes, for example…
rectilinear
triangular ▲►▼◄◊∆
circular
freeform

combinations ◙☺
3 DIMENSIONAL = volumes, for example…

cuboid / prismatic
pyramidal / prismatic
spherical / tubular / drum

freeform
combinations
4 DIMENSIONAL = time & movement, for example…

• movement through space:
e.g. fast or slow, smooth or jerky,
up/downwards...changes & events over time
• solar patterns (day & night)
• lunar patterns (over month)
• seasonal patterns (over year)
QUT (QIT) in 1971: Blocks A, B, C. Close up of C Block.
• generational patterns etc.
Note the repetition and the variety of elements.
CONCLUSIONS:
MOVEMENT / RHYTHM Putting these ideas (design tools) into practice.Designers
This concerns the illusion of movement across a visual (and artists) use the visual elements and basic design
composition. There are various types of movement or rhythm principles to create designs – along with many other factors
(as in music…): influencing their work.
Legato = smooth; staccato = agitated; etc.
The language of art is used to explain these creations to
others – orally or in written form. Critics and Historians also
use these descriptors to interpret creations. Here are some
examples…
Source of image: REFERENCES

Motloch, John L. (2001). Chapter 8 "Visual Arts as Ordering
model of V.Tatlin's Mechanism", in Introduction to Landscape Design, 2nd edition.
"Monument to the New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Third International"
Riddell, Bruce (1986). Art in the Making, Milton, Q: Jacaranda
in The Art Book Press.
1996:453 (London:
Simonds, John O. (1997). Chapter 12 "Visible Landscape", in
Phaidon)
Landscape Architecture, 3rd edition. New York: McGraw Hill.
Note arch rhythm, like a bouncing ball.

4 Design Basics 2012
COMPOSITE GEOMETRIES
DESIGN #2 Rectilinear-Angular Composites:

e.g. superimposing circles create acute angles.
Designers source ideas and Rectilinear-Circular Composites:

understanding from many places; e.g. tangents = 90° to the radius of circle
or rounding off the corners!
mathematics is one such place.
Angular-Circular
GEOMETRICAL Ordering Composites:e.g. multi-pointed
or radiating from centre of
stars
Mechanisms circle
Rectilinear-Angular-Circular Composites:
e.g. combining the lot –
This essay is concerned with geometric approaches to order can be very fussy looking if not symmetrical!
in design. Motloch (2001) described Euclidian geometry and
the geometry found in nature. Investigations into geometry GEOMETRY IN NATURE
have very ancient roots in Western cultures, and include the
work of early Egyptian and Greek scholars, and the latest The mathematical principles on which nature's patterns are
20 th century ideas about Chaos Theory and fractals. In based can be useful tools and insights for designers of all
addition to these ordering mechanisms, the final section of sorts. Designers are interested in both the structural patterns
this discussion outlines some interesting mathematical (frameworks, load-bearing systems, arrangements of parts)
patterns found in Adam Spencer's Book of Numbers. and the decorative aspects (colouration and patterning).
However, we designers usually make use of the findings of
the scientists who have provided the detailed understanding
EUCLIDIAN GEOMETRY and measuring of these systems and patterns.
Euclid was an ancient Greek mathematician who lived in
Alexandria (Egypt) 3 rd century BCE. Motloch (2001:147) Biologist D'Arcy Thompson (1860-1948) first published his
describes the four types of Euclidian geometry as: influential book On Growth and Form in 1917 and it still
rectilinear, angular, circular and composites of these. A remains relevant today – although there have been
designer utilizes these geometries singularly or in enormous advances in understanding the workings of the
combination, along with the ordering mechanisms of the natural world and the variety of species within it. While this
visual arts to create successful and interesting schemes. work is naturally important to biologists, mathematicians and
Different human cultures attach distinct emotional other scientists, it also intriguing to designers. With the
characteristics to these geometries. See if you agree with growth of Modernism in the post-WW2 era, and efforts to
Motloch's descriptions of emotional associations to remove 'style' from 'good design', the lessons that Nature
geometries. offered seemed particularly tempting as a source of ideas.
Many introductory texts for designers in 1960s and 1970s
RECTILINEAR GEOMETRY were full of references to organic forms and natural
Rectilinear 2D shapes and 3D forms have the right geometries. However, Nature's solutions to problems of
angle (90° ) as the determining component. Squares structure and arrangement remain of interest in the 21 st
and rectangles are flat and two-dimensional. Cubes and century for all sorts of reasons, including recent explorations
some prisms are the solid forms of these. Motloch regarding the use of metaphor and the fascination of Chaos
(2001:147) describes 3 visual forces inherent in rectilinear and Gaia Theories.
geometry: horizontal lines, vertical lines and right angles.
The following brief discussion of natural patterns includes:
branching systems, spirals, hexagonal systems and
ANGULAR GEOMETRY hydraulics. Without digging into the complex mathematics
Angular 2D shapes and 3D forms have a smaller too much, the inspiration for designers is often in the visual
(acute angles) or greater (obtuse angles) angles arrangement, so illustrations have been incorporated here.
than the right angle (90° ) as the determining component.
Equilateral triangles are based on three 60° angles and
three equal sides. Triangular prisms are the solid forms of
this geometry. Motloch (2001:148) describes 3 forces in
angular geometry: point, radiating lines and angles. He
maintains that acute angles generate energy – intensifying
and increasing the dynamic qualities – while obtuse angles
"convey a controlled, subdued, or refined energy."
Images: Engwicht,
CIRCULAR GEOMETRY David (1992).
Circular 2D shapes the perfect roundness of the Towards an Eco-
circle and includes the 3D forms sphere, drum or City. Sydney:
cylinder. Motloch (2001:149-150) describes 4 inherent forces Envirobook, pp,
in the circle: the generative point, the arc, the radial forces, 123-124.
and right angle where radials meet arcs.

BRANCHING SYSTEMS SPIRALS
= Bifurcating linear patterns! (found in plants and animals and beyond)
• Trees and their leaves Curvilinear patterns! True spirals have the same radius of
• River systems (whole sets of catchments, from the tidal curvature, such as the helix or the screw.
mouth to the smallest creek) Equiangular spirals have a radius of curvature that
• Blood circulation in some animals, e.g. humans and increases (based on the Fibonacci number series) and are
other mammals the most common form of spirals in nature. They include:
• Some forms of lightening or other electrical discharge. • Pinecones and pineapples
• Flower centres in the Compositae family (daisies).
• Shells (sea-shells –nautilus, cone, etc.)
• Horns of some goats, sheep, etc.
• Some microscopic creatures, e.g. Radiolarians
• Galaxies of stars!
[Colorado River system image: Rowland 1971:80]
[Radius of curvature images: Thompson 1971:177]

[Tree branches image: Rowland 1971:80]
[Nautilus image: Thompson 1971:173]
[Electrical discharge image: Rowland 1971:81]
[Haliotis Image: Thompson 1971:186]
[Sheep's horn image: Thompson 1971:209]

HEXAGONAL SYSTEMS Chaos Theory & Fractal Geometry
• Snowflakes (or water crystals) are based on the six-
This section was derived from GDLA student David Chick's
pointed star that is comprised of 5 angles of 72° excellent seminar (2000), "Order in Disorder" wherein he
each (= 360° ). PROVED that Tasmania (his home State) is bigger than the
• Bee's honeycomb cells are based on a hexagonal prism Australian mainland! It got my attention too! Mind you his
– very strong and very compact. sister had just completed her PhD in pure mathematics on
• Some rocks form around hexagons – basaltic prisms, or the topic of fractal geometry.
some semi-precious gems
David wrote:
"This seminar will make you see everything differently! There
is danger in listening further! You risk the loss of your
childhood vision of clouds, forests, galaxies, leaves,
feathers, flowers, rocks, mountains, torrents of water,
carpets, bricks, and much else besides. Never again will
your interpretation of these things be quite the same."
[Chick 2000:slide 3; Adapted from Bovill (1996:3)]
Tasmania’s
10 m line 2 m line
Coastal Length
x 7 = 0.07 km x 37 = 0.074 km
100 km = 1000 km
50 km = 1650 km Total if applied to the Total if applied to the
5 km = 5775 km whole island: whole island:
1 km = 9112 km 20827 km! 22017 km!
500 m = 12149 km What if we kept going?
100 m = 17009 km Length Result
50 cm 33025 km
[Bee cells image: Thompson 1971:109] 10 cm 49537 km
1 cm 95111 km
1 mm 182613 km
1 microm. 1252542 km
10 m
1 nano.m 8591189 km
2m
1 pico.m 58926969 km
1 femto.m 404180080 km
It all depends on how you measure it!

As proven on slides 7-10.
Natural Systems have a fractional dimension.

(slide 11)
"Why is [Euclidean] geometry often called cold and dry? One
reason lies in its inability to describe the shape of a cloud, a
mountain, a coastline, or a tree. Clouds are not spheres,
mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark
is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight
line."Benoit Mandelbrot (Chick 2000: Slide 12).
WHAT IS FRACTAL GEOMETRY?

Slide 13: Fractal Geometry is the geometry which describes
the chaotic systems we find in nature.
"Mathematics is the language with which God has written the
universe." Albert Einstein.
[Radiolarians image: Thompson 1971:168]
Hydraulics
Liquids in action! Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by the
flow of water and drew sketches from observation. Slow- Both Fractals and
Nature are:
motion photography described the action of things that occur
too fast for the human eye to perceive – and has been used Self-Similar
by advertisers ever since! Fountain designers are the artists
of water while hydraulic engineers and their scientific and Lack Scale
understanding of water, save our cities from floods and
storm run-off damage.
• Flows: swirling, curling, surf, tides
• Drops and splats
• Bubbles and froth
• White noise or tabletop trickles and
Feng Shui!
[Chick 2000: Slide 14]

WHAT IS CHAOS [Theory]? (2) Music notation provides pattern for visual variety in
1. Chaotic systems are deterministic. fence height.
2. Chaotic systems are very sensitive to the initial
conditions.
becomes…

EXAMPLE: A butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazon… and CHAOTIC (RANDOM) LAYOUT:
there is a Tsunami in Japan. "Pick-up sticks" or the leads for your propelling pencil… = a
chaotic layout – and very reminiscent of Constructivist forms!
CHAOS & FRACTALS FOR DESIGNERS:
FINALLY, David proposed there were several ways that
landscape designers could make use of chaos theory and
fractal geometry. He postulated 5 ways:
• a literal application adding 'chaos to the standard
Koch Curve (see below)
• using cues from nature mimicking differing heights of
shrubbery for freeway screen panels;
• using design cues from other fractals e.g. music;
• concocting a theoretical application pick-up-sticks
tossed and resultant 'chaotic random' pattern followed);
and,
• that "we are ALL butterflies" – we had just been visited
and had been greatly influence by Sue Gifford from
Common Ground (a UK community art + environment +
heritage lobby group – see website
www.commonground.org.uk ).
SOME OTHER MATHEMATICAL
[Chick 2000: Slides 16-20] PATTERNS (Adam Spencer)
Triple J radio announcer and former PhD candidate in
FIGURES: Mathematics, Adam Spencer penned a great little book that
makes numbers interesting! I have extracted a few of the
items I think are of interest for designers. They are mostly
about constructing proportions and patterns.
1
FIBONACCI NUMBERS
Fibonacci aka. Leonardo of Pisa described a series of
2 numbers in 1202, created by adding two numbers in a row to
create the next one in the series, thus, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13,
21… etc. [Spencer 2000:8 & 21]
Nature has used this series many times in spirals, flower
petals, etc. as described previously.
3
MAGIC SQUARES
Using the numbers 1 to 16 only once in one of the squares,
4 each row in a magic square adds up to 34, e.g.
KOCH CURVE Now with a touch chaos
(very symmetrical) toss a coin to choose 10 16 1 7 =34
left or right side
? ? ? ? =34
? ? ? ? =34
Freeway Acoustic/Visual Screens
(1) random heights to screens provides visual variety 15 5 12 2 =34
=34
=34
=34
=34
[Spencer 2000:74]

TRIANGULAR NUMBERS TETROMINOES (singular = tetromino)
Triangular numbers form a series, which can be shown as a
diagram (right-angled triangles), thus:
Tn = ½ x n(n+1)
In series: 1, 3, 6, 10, 15…
T5 = ½ x 5(5+1)
A tetromino is a shape formed by joining 4 squares together.
=½x5x6 Ignoring reflections, there are only 5 tetrominoes. [Spencer
2000:14]
= 15
PENTOMINOES
Diagram: 1+2+3+4+5=15
If you keep going adding all the numbers form 1 to 10…
then… 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10=55.
[Spencer 2000:36-37 & 123]
PENTAGONAL NUMBERS
This series also can form a diagram, with pentagons that
increase in size. Starting with the smallest pentagon of 5 etc.
points (where the five sides meet)… 5, 12, 22… etc. A pentomino is a shape formed by joining 5 squares
together. Ignoring reflections, there are only 12
pentominoes. What are the rest? [Spencer 2000:14]
HEXOMINOES
[Spencer 2000:52]
CENTRED HEXAGONAL NUMBERS etc. A hexomino is a shape formed by joining 6 squares

This series of numbers expands equilaterally in the diagram. together. Ignoring reflections, there are only 35 hexominoes.
Starting with one point, add 6 points around it, then another What are the rest? [Spencer 2000:76]
outer layer of 12 points, thus the series begins… 1, 7, 19,
37, 61…
GEOMETRICAL ORDERING REFERENCES:

Gérardin, Lucien (1968). Bionics, trans. Pat Priban, London: World
University Library/Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
This book is DEFINITELY for scientists only – instead
see the neat designer's explanation provided by Hanks
(1977) in "SAFE design" essay.
1 7 19
Motloch, John L. (2001). Introduction to Landscape Design, 2nd
edition, New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Rowland, Kurt (1971). Pattern and Shape, No.1 in Looking and
Seeing series, London/Melbourne: Ginn/F.W. Cheshire.
Simonds, John O. (1997). Landscape Architecture: A manual of Site

Planning and Design, 3rd ed., New York: McGraw-Hill.
Spencer, Adam (2000). Book of Numbers, Ringwood, Vic: Penguin
7+(2x6)=19 [Spencer 2000:81] Books.
Thompson, D'Arcy Wentworth (1971). On Growth and Form,
abridged edition edited by J.T. Bonner, Cambridge, UK:

Cambridge University Press.
Chick, David (2000), "Order in Disorder", unpublished student
seminar prepared for GDLA unit PSP267 Heritage and
Plant Studies, Project 2 Contemporary/Historic Design
(submitted as PowerPoint presentation on CD-ROM).
Lecturer: Jeannie Sim.

19+(3x6)=37

WHAT DO SUCH SPACES LOOK LIKE?
DESIGN #3 Kinds of spatial impact… [Simonds 1997:179-181]
There are more visual aspects for a

designer to consider, in 4
dimensions (includes time)!
Site Volumes, Visual Landscape

& Circulation
Purpose of this section:
• To introduce more ideas about the visual and spatial
environment, i.e.
(A) SITE VOLUMES ex Simonds 1997 chapter 11
(B) VISUAL LANDSCAPE ex Simonds 1997 chapter 12
(C) CIRCULATION ex Simonds 1997 chapter 13
• To widen the array of possible references for design
theory (i.e. other viewpoints about similar concepts)
(A) SITE VOLUMES or SPACES...

SITES have …
• areas (2 dimensions) and
• volumes (3 dimensions).
VOLUMES have…
• base plane
• overhead plane
• verticals
• 4D = time infers change & movement !
[Simonds 1997: 177-215]
IMPACT of SPACE
• SPACE IMPACTS HUMAN PERCEPTION…
• 85% of perception is VISUAL !
• Designers can create volumes for good or bad
(PLEASURE & DISPLEASURE)… but preferably for the
GOOD of clients/users…!
CHARACTER OF SPACE CAN CREATE…

• tension
• relaxation
• fright
• gaiety [Simonds 1997:179-181]
• contemplation
• dynamic action
• sensuous love
• sublime, spiritual awe

IMPACTS AND ENCLOSURE…
[Simonds 1997:179-181]
SPACE SIZE & PREFERRED USES...
[Simonds 1997:186]
[Simonds 1997:192]

ABSTRACT LINE EXPRESSION… OVERHEAD SPACE DEFINITION...
space character can suggest suitable uses... "The form, height, density, solidity, translucence, reflectivity,
sound absorbance, texture, colour, symbolism, and degree of
overhead enclosure all have a telling effect on the spatial
quality." [Simonds 1997:198]
ENCLOSURE & SCREENING …
[Simonds 1997:193]
see others [Simonds 1997:202]

(B) VISIBLE LANDSCAPE
A VIEW has 2 aspects (in reality or in rendering):

• SPACE
• perspective (> cone of vision)
• background [Simonds 1997:221]
• middle ground
• foreground ENFRAMEMENT & Vista compatibility…
• LIGHT Small and cute (twee) artefacts in front of a GRAND
• brightness LANDSCAPE look silly and detract from the view – ruining
• shade the experience of both artefacts & view!
• shadow MASSIVE and BRUTAL artefacts in front of a small and
Simonds 1997, Chapter 12, pp. 218-237. dainty view are equally inappropriate.
interior and exterior designers should be working
Visible Landscape COMPONENTS together!
• VIEW: power of suggestion; conceal [hide bad views, or
entice with mystery]; reveal [borrowed landscape]
• VISTA: enframement ; terminus (focus)
• AXIS: directional, orderly, dominating
• SYMMETRY:plan elements in equilibrium about a point
or area or axis or plane
e.g. bilateral : trilateral : quadrilateral : multilateral
• ASYMMETRY: irregular, ?closer to nature
Aspects of VIEWS…
introducing BORROWED LANDSCAPE (=beyond the
property boundary)
[Simonds 1997:221]
AXIS (plural axes…)
[Simonds 1997:218]
Views & VISTAS…

Human peripheral vision makes real views experienced
MUCH BIGGER than a graphic or photographic rendering
could ever conjure! introducing ENFRAMEMENT
[Simonds 1997:227-228]

Also see Cullen's GRANDIOSE VISTA… ASYMMETRY… Occult Balance…
'Occult' means secret, mysterious, or not apparent on mere
inspection but discoverable by experimentation.
Enframed vista along an
AXIS
e.g. Palace of Versailles, near Paris, France.
SYMMETRY…
[Simonds 1997:233]
(C) CIRCULATION
• MOTION is nearly always involved in experience…
people, things, nature … on the move…
• Circulation design includes pedestrian ways, vehicular
traffic (bicycle, car, truck, train, tram), equestrian rides,
etc.
[Simonds 1997, Chapter 13, pp. 240-277]
SOME ASPECTS OF CIRCULATION

(1) lines of approach
(2) factors controlling movement through space
[Simonds 1997:230]

Lines of Approach…
[Simonds 1997:241]
(2)CIRCULATION factors: we tend to move…

• along lines of least resistance
• along easiest grades
• toward that which pleases / things wanted / excite
curiosity / points of highest contrast
• to attain goal
• toward the beautiful, the picturesque
… as suits our moods or needs
[Simonds 1997:242]
(2) CIRCULATION factors: we are repelled by…

• Obstacles
• steep grades
• the unpleasant
• the monotonous, the uninteresting, the dull, the obvious
• the undesirable
• the forbidding
• the demanding, danger, friction, disorder,
• the ugly, the unsuitable
[Simonds 1997:242]
[Simonds 1997:241]

(2) CIRCULATION: we are directed or guided by… (2) Sequence… see also Gordon Cullen's 'Serial Vision'
• implied patterns of circulation "Progressive sequential realization of a concept or
• dynamic plan lines conditioned attainment of a goal." [Simonds 1997:251]
• Baffles / screens / space dividers
• signs Start at viewpoint 1, and proceed up the page to the final
• symbols destination at viewpoint 5.
• mechanical controls (gates, kerbs, barriers)…
[Simonds 1997:242]
(2) CIRCULATION: we are induced to repose by...

• Conditions of comfort / enjoyment / rest
• opportunity for privacy or fuller appreciation of view,
shape or detail
• restriction of movement, inability to proceed 4
• imposed indecision
• pleasant arrangements of forms and space
• functions related to rest and repose
• attainment of optimum position.
[Simonds 1997:242]
(2) CIRCULATION: motion…

horizontal, downward & upward
• horizontal motion: 1
easier, freer & more efficient, safer, … visual interest is
in the vertical plane
• downward motion or decline:
easy but care needed, can give sense of refuge,
privacy… vision is oriented to the base plane
• upward motion or incline/rise/climb:
hardest but ?exhilarating / sense of accomplishment, Finally…
implies military advantage, expanding views & vistas… • The terms used here are further examples of the
it offers visual interest in the overhead plane, using sun 'language of art' as applied to the built environment…
and sky to full effect • get to know these ideas and practice using the words
[Simonds 1997:244] and the concepts in your design projects…
VOLUMES & CIRCULATION REFERENCE:
Simonds, John O. (1997). Landscape Architecture: A Manual

of Site Planning and Design, 3 rd edition, New York:
McGraw-Hill.

WAY of DESIGN: modern
DESIGN #4 By 'SMOOTH HANDS'

• design-by-drawing
• based on abstract thought & theory (knowledge of "why")
There is more than one way to skin • implemented by others
a cat, but who would want to?! • experimentation (change / individuality) actively
encouraged
Likewise, there is more than one • from Industrial Revolution onwards .
way to design.
SUMMARY: Who Designs ?
Types of Design and Planning landscape & urban design AUTHORSHIP:
by FOLK CULTURE
Methods • Generalists using 'vernacular' traditions
• using pre-modern, craft-based design methods
by 'CLASSIC' (PROFESSIONAL) CULTURE
• Specialists (landscape architects, planners)
How to design (explaining how design works) is under
constant review by researchers and practitioners. There is • using modern planning design methods
no one-and-only approach to design. Before exploring design BOTH GROUPS USE DESIGN TOOLS ! (ie.Visual Elements
first hand (by doing it), it is worth doing some background & Design Principles) but with different degrees of
investigation. The following essay is only a preliminary control/understanding
overview, but the breadth makes up for the lack of depth.
Remember, you are not alone as a designer; you have a SOME TYPES of DESIGN METHOD
cultural and physical context in which and through which you Various approaches…
operate. Became aware of these contexts.
• SURVEY-ANALYSIS-DESIGN (SAD)
• PATTERN-ASSISTED DESIGN (PAD)
WAYS of DESIGNING • METAPHOR,SYMBOL, ALLEGORY
DIFFERENT METHODS PRODUCE DIFFERENT RESULTS See TURNER Chapter 7 "Metaphorical Plans"
i.e. Means Influence Ends • plus combinations thereof . . .
e.g. Design can be by rough hands and/or smooth hands
Rough Hands ~ workshops & out-of-doors 1. Survey-Analysis-Design (SAD)
traditional up to Middle Ages in Europe & still extant in
most of developing world began with Patrick Geddes (1915) who was interested in city
Smooth Hands ~ office-produced working drawings for planning as a technical (deductive) exercise
implementation by others "work deductively from the general to the particular" or "from
the modern Western/Industrial tradition of today. the particular to the general" Turner 1996:159
Process:
(1) SURVEY or record existing site conditions
(2) APPRAISAL / ANALYSIS of existing site conditions

• e.g. various techniques/theories
• identify problems & constraints (= challenges)
• identify successes & opportunities
•
WAY of DESIGN : pre-modern (3) CONCEPT and/or SKETCH DESIGNS
By 'ROUGH HANDS'
• apprentice & master (skilled craftworker) (4) FINAL DESIGN.
• gradual change because traditional ways preferred Refer Turner 1996:141-153
knowledge is taught by "how" a thing should be rather than
"why" it needs to be that way.
[Turner 1996:12] [Turner 1996:146]

"SAD" by McHarg (B) SYMBOLIC INTERLUDES
Deductive approach continued by environmentally aware • Maltese cross in pavement (forecourt to Qld Parliament
landscape architect Ian McHarg (1971), Design with Nature: House)
• empirical ecological approach • lions at Chinatown gate, Fortitude Valley cf. lions in front
• layering constraints to find 'only possible' solution of Brisbane City Hall
• cemeteries & evergreen trees (cypresses, pines);
rosemary for remembrance
• Norfolk Island pines on Aussie beaches
• Brisbane City logo = 2 icons (tower & palm tree)
• And what can you think?
(C) ALLEGORICAL GARDENS

Garden design based on a story that can be 'read' by those
'in the know' (educated)… e.g.
• VILLA D'ESTE, Tivoli, Italy [by Ligorio]

based on 11th labour of Hercules = to get golden apples
from garden of Hesperides (a Ancient Greek Myth)
[Turner 1996:58]
2. Metaphor, Symbol, Allegory

Used not as art for art's sake but for making places useful & VILLA D'ESTE, Tivoli, Italy in 16 th century
beautiful & interesting [Image Source; Jellicoe 1995:158]
• Metaphor
= "word picture where image completely replaces thing • STOURHEAD, Shropshire, UK
being described ... 'like' and 'as' always used." [by Hoare family] based on Virgil's Aeneid (pathway to
'hybrid vigour' when 2 dissimilar things crossed (a Grotto etc. = Aeneid's journey to the Underworld)
creative & sometimes transformative approach); Turner
(1996:79-90)
• Symbol
= "something used / regarded as representing something
else" [emblem, token, sign]
• Allegory
= "symbolic narrative" [i.e. it tells a story]
(A) METAPHORICAL DESIGN
STOURHEAD
18 th century English Landscape School
[Image Source: Jellicoe 1995:241]
[Turner 1996:147]
• KENNEDY MEMORIAL, Runnymede, UK. Some changes in MODERN DESIGN approaches:
[by Geoffrey Jellicoe] based on Chaucer's Pilgrim's • FORDIST PRODUCTION
Progress • POST-FORDIST APPROACHES
influencing planners and designers
• PUBLIC PARTICIPATION in DESIGN & PLANNING
Modern Design : FORDIST

• FORDIST PRODUCTION METHODS: developed by
Henry Ford for 'mass production' of automobiles in early
20th C.
[G. Jellicoe 1964, in Wrede 1994:125]
[Turner 1996:14]
Modern Design: POST-FORDIST

• POST-FORDIST METHODS: 'lean production' (in use of
energy, time & materials) was developed in Japan in late
20th C. & exported back to USA; where
• "shusa is the new supercraftsman, directing a process
that now requires too many skills for one person to
master" See Turner 1996:15-20
Post Fordist 'Lean Production Team':

• starts large & then contracts
Source: Jellicoe 1970: before 27 • dedicated & tightly knit
• master plans developed in parallel with component
designs
3. Pattern-Assisted Design (PAD)
• component makers are full members of design team
Turner's Ideas (see more in section DESIGN #7): • all designers have experience on production line
• Primary / NATURAL patterns • customer feedback through car salesmen & car users
• Secondary / HUMAN patterns • team leader is powerful but seeks agreement of all
• Tertiary / ARTISTIC patterns parties.
• Quaternary / ARCHETYPAL patterns (from Christopher
Alexander's Pattern Language)
PAD approaches use these forms of patterns (singly or Modern Design: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
together) to help generate creative design solutions. APPLYING 'lean production' to BUILT ENVIRONMENT:
See Turner's examples 1996:203-207 etc. • Planners and landscape architects
use public participation e.g.
Times are still changing… • advisory committees
"If landscape design is, to any degree, a fine art, then it • written comments
simply cannot use a deterministic methodology." • public debate
Turner 1996:146 [emphasis added]
• design workshops
• for effective planning (to suit the many clients)
Remember,
'many plans not one plan'
DESIGN APPROACHES ARE CONSTANTLY BEING
RETHOUGHT, REVIEWED, AMMENDED.

DESIGNER TYPES CONCLUSION
"The is no One Right Way" to design !
• HUNTER = "a single-minded approach, aiming to do one if the aim of landscape design is TO MAKE GOOD PLACES,
thing and to do it very well" the MEANS to achieve this VARY, e.g. sometimes we use . .
• NESTER = "a broad-minded approach, aiming to take .
sequential decisions that contribute to a broad set of • SAD modernist method
long-term objectives" • old craft-based approaches
• NESTER-HUNTER = "balanced approach but is not so • art-based methods
expert in either of above approaches." • or what ever is needed to get the job done well ?
See Turner 1996: 132-137 (Chapter 12)
NOTE: best design teams have both hunters & nesters HOW TO CHOOSE which approach?
Turner says: "Consult the Genius of the Place" and consider
HUNTERS VERSUS NESTERS the 'pattern' approach (contains inductive & deductive logic).
• typical Modern designer trained as a HUNTER See Turner 1996:153.
• typical 'THIRD WORLD' designer a NESTER (skills
admired by environmentalists in seeking balanced The following sections of OTHER viewpoints on how to
ecosystems, appropriate lifestyles, recycling of waste design and which approach is right for you and the situation.
products, etc.)
• "the education of nester-designers should result in
designer-led design-and-build work, with better
craftspeople, more work, more social relevance, and ...
higher salaries." METHODS REFERENCES:
Turner 1996: 137
Many of the ideas in this essay are derived from:
Turner, Tom (1996). City as Landscape: a Post-postmodern view of
Design and Planning, London: E & FN Spon,
in particular…
"Chapter 2: Design and Planning Methods"
"Chapter 12: The tragedy of feminine planning and design"
"Chapter 13: The blood of philosopher-kings"
Also refer to the 'classic' text:

McHarg, Ian (1971), Design with Nature, Philadelphia: Falcon Press
Other sources of figures:

Jellicoe, G. (1970), "Chapter 2 The Landscape of Allegory", in
Studies in Landscape Design Volume 3, London: Oxford
University Press.
Jellicoe, G. and S. Jellicoe (1995), The Landscape of Man, London:
Thames & Hudson.
Wrede, Stuart and William Howard Adams (1994), Denatured
Visions: Landscape and Culture in the 20 th century, New York:
MOMA.
[Turner 1996:134]
Choosing a DESIGN METHOD

Depends on particular project… and
• your PERSONAL PREFERENCE
Turner Ch 12: are you a Nester, Hunter or Nester-
Hunter?
• your CONTEXTUAL POLICY
Turner Ch 10 are you seeking Identity, Similarity,
Difference or a Coalition (with your neighbours)?
• your method of design IMPLEMENTATION
Turner Ch 14
e.g. are you using a sequence of contracts, a single
contract or on-site decisions?)

PROBLEM SOLVING: 'Schema'
DESIGN #5 A 'schema' is not a solution but a device for finding

constraints.
Exploring design as a problem DISCOVER

solving process has been the
backbone of Modernist design SCHEMA CONSTRAINTS
approaches.
REVISE
DESIGN AS PROBLEM
SOLVING "Four conditions of constraint:
1. The people concerned don't know what they want.
2. What they want is not very precise.
3. They know exactly what they want.
This section is a composite of extracts from Heath (1989). 4. They want contradictory or incompatible things."
Who was TOM HEATH? Professor Tom Heath, architect and [Heath 1989:4-5]
scholar, was attached to the former school of AIID (now part
of DBE) at QUT (1979-98). He once ran a combined Reitmans' State Transformation Model
introductory design course of ALL BBE students! He passed A model for problem solving… It is, A B where,
away in 1998, sadly missed, but his ideas & lecture notes A = some initial state of affairs
live on. Who could resist such observations as… B = a final state of affairs
"90% of everything is crap!" = the transformation process which converts A into B
Each of these 3 terms may be KNOWN ; PARTLY KNOWN ;
MEMORY & DESIGN: Short-Term Memory or UNKNOWN [Heath 1989:7]
consciousness – under normal circumstances, we cannot
think of more than 7 ± 2 things at once. These limitations on FRAMING A PROBLEM: what problem ?
our intelligence and rationality give rise to the need to 3 fundamental problem solving STRATEGIES:
DESIGN! [Heath 1989:1] • RECOGNITION
• GENERATE and TEST
WHAT IS DESIGN? "Design is a process which enables us • HEURISTIC SEARCH
to decide what to do, under conditions which are too complex or a combination of these. Heuristic
for us to visualise all the possibilities, by simulating possible searches are common in design.
courses of action, and testing these simulations in such a [Heath 1989:8]
way that the risk of things going badly is considerably
reduced." [Heath 1989:2] Framing the Problem: RECOGNITION
Maybe used for solving PARTS of design problems. There
Thus, design as PROBLEM SOLVING are 3 methods involved:
1. Knowing the answer [value of past experience!]
PROBLEM SOLVING: Identify the constraints 2. Knowing where to find the answer [researching databases
"A constraint is a proposition which enables us to distinguish and other records; libraries; Internet]
between solutions and non-solutions to a given problem" 3. Knowing how to work out the answer [=ALGORITHM; "a
• Qualitative & Relational Constraints complete set of directions for solving a problem of a given
features on face are qualities but in relation to one and type"] [Heath 1989:8-9]
other
• Internal and external relations Framing the Problem: GENERATE & TEST
internal relation within face but also an external relation =TRIAL AND ERROR or randomness / chance [Heath
to surrounds or setting [Heath 1989:2] 1989:10].
Selection of this method based on these 4 Limitations (rarely
PROBLEM SOLVING: Constraints in context possible for built design problems):
Reliability of constraints (real v. perceived) • average effort required to generate each possibility
• scientific, technological types [=reasonably reliable] ready for testing
• economic, moral, political, administrative … social, • average effort required to test against all constraints
cultural [= less reliable or changing] • total number of possibilities
• LUCK! Maybe the 'satisficing' answer turns up early!
Optimising & 'satisficing'
• OPTIMUM (or plural, OPTIMA) = the best! & the most Framing a Problem: HEURISTIC SEARCH
difficult to achieve HEURISTIC = "1. serving to find out; furthering investigation.
• SATISFACTORY solutions are usual goal of design … 3. Mathematics (of a method of solving problems) one for
[Heath 1989:3] which no algorithm exists and which therefore depends on
deductive or inductive reasoning from past experience of
similar problems. …" Macquarie Dictionary, 3rd edition 1997.
THIS IS THE BEST APPROACH for MOST DESIGN

situations!

REASONING (1) THREE ELEMENTARY ACTIVITIES
• Deductive reasoning = using deduction = • IMAGINING [Zeisel used the word 'imaging'] – forming
[subtraction] "process of drawing a conclusion from the 'fuzzy mental picture' or SCHEMA (Heath's preferred
something known or assumed" term) [Heath 1989:17]
• Inductive reasoning = using induction = • PRESENTING – presenting records & communicates
"logic process [or conclusion reached] of discovering schema eg. sketching, models, diagrams, writing,
explanations for a set of facts by estimating the weight of talking… 'externalising images'
observable evidence in favour of a proposition which • TESTING – matching current schema to constraints
(usually) asserts something about an entire class of modifying or rejecting as needed
facts." Macquarie Dictionary, 3rd edition 1997
HEURISTIC SEARCH = 'feeling our way'

"… links the successive trials together according to some
overall search plan." [Heath 1989:11-15]
• discover search plan by studying structure of problem
• discover main constraints to discover the system
structure
• heuristic methods are not 100% reliable ! (2) TWO TYPES OF INFORMATION
• they are only a 'rule-of-thumb' ! • using data for imagining & testing… "as a heuristic
catalyst for imaging and as a body of knowledge for
JUDGEMENT & SERENDIPITY Eureka!! testing"
Judgement is required when… • i.e. heuristic catalyst = most data can be used in "what
• selecting examples & exemplars if…" scenario of imagination
• deciding how to break a problem up REMINDER: heuristic means...
• finding the most constrained parts "1. Serving to find out; furthering investigation.
• selecting powerful constraints 2. (of a teaching method) encouraging students to discover
• looking for constraints to relax for themselves…"
• deciding to continue current tack or [Macquarie Dictionary (1997) 3rd edition]
quit & seek another line of exploration
Serendipity (= happy accident) can happen!
[Heath 1989:16]
SUMMARY : 5 Heuristics
• State of the art review
What has been done already? Are there exemplars?
• Buy it or break it
Do you know the answer?… otherwise, break it up (3) SHIFTING VISIONS
• Find the structure Shifting visions of final product as schema are adapted or
What parts … what connections between them? renewed… "Design is a learning process. Like other learning
• Find the hierarchy processes it requires a mixture of excitement (what if) and
What parts constrained? Solve them first. discipline (no, that won't do). Rigidity of thinking and
• Serendipity & divergent thinking excessive vagueness are both bad design strategies. Design
can difficulties be turned to advantages? What if? is about changing one's vision of the situation until it
[Heath 1989:16] encompasses a solution." [Heath 1989:19]
What Do Designers Do?

The second section in Heath (1989), draws from John Zeilsel
(1981) Inquiry by Design. The purposes if these notes are:
• to introduce Zeilsel's 5 Design Characteristics
• to introduce three elementary activities:
imagining / presenting / testing
Some Useful Design Habits (4) ACCEPTABLE RESPONSES
• to explore sources of NEW IDEAS (extrapolation & • Zeisel's 'domain of acceptable response'
invention; originality in design; organising those sources) = Heath's 'solution space' [Heath 1989:18-19]
• To explore transforming source material • their opposite = 'acceptable risk of failing'
• To TEST DESIGN IDEAS V.A.S.T. checklists (heavy responsibility when wrong decisions can mean
legal penalties!)
ZEILSEL'S 5 DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS • reminder… "Design exists to stop things going wrong."
[Heath 1989:17] ACCEPTABILITY means the least possible error...
(1) three activities imaging [=imagining], presenting,
testing
(2) two types of information (use data for
imagining+testing)
(3) shifting visions of final product
(4) towards a domain of acceptable responses
(5) development through limited cycles: a 'spiral metaphor'

(5) 'SPIRAL METAPHOR' • symbolic / expressive – classified by meaning
• structural – what gives it strength?
• process – how produced/made?
• experiential / phenomenological – how feel about it?
NOTE: Piles of old photocopies do not help!
• DESIGN DEVELOPMENT SPIRAL
You need to be able to RETRIEVE your data!
= consecutive image-present-test cycles converging on
domain of acceptable responses
TRANSFORMING SOURCE MATERIAL
OTHER ASPECTS OF DESIGNERS' BEHAVIOUR:
Transforming processes (borrowing those ideas):
• Designers BACKTRACK
• METRIC: enlargement/reduction of whole/parts
• FOCUS SHIFTS
• CARICATURE: also uses enlarged/reduced parts
• HOMING-IN to SOLUTION
• ADDITIVE/SUBTRACTIVE: add on or cut off
"… design is an heuristic process and cannot proceed with
• REFLECTIONS & SYMMETRIES: reverse, rotate, invert
certainty." [Heath 1989:19]
or multiply whole or parts
SOME USEFUL DESIGN HABITS
• CHANGE CONTEXT: use commonplace element for
• Freehand sketching precise drawing takes too long or
unusual purpose; or unusual element for commonplace
too involved for an idea that may be discarded
purpose
• 'Thumbnail' sketches (small scale) enlarge only
• ANALOGY/SYMBOLIC: e.g. caryatids as columns
promising ideas
• COMBINIONATORIAL [!]: bits of the above !
• Overlay sketching transparent paper allows comparison
[Heath 1989:23-24]
of ideas & minimises 'setting up' time
• Drawing to approximate scale also avoids wasting
Practicing Transformations
time; correct later
CREATIVITY… transformation processes under various
• Numbering sketches in sequence this is about names:
organising all those accrued ideas
• divergent thinking
[Heath 1989:20]
• lateral thinking
IMAGINING: where do new ideas come from? • displacement concepts
2 MAJOR SOURCES of NEW IDEAS (especially regarding LEARN to be an IMAGINATIVE! CREATIVE! ORIGINAL!
scientific & technical inventions)… DESIGNER… how? by developing certain mental/physical
habits through practice… constantly seeking out images &
• EXTRAPOLATION [="to infer from that which is known"]
ideas [librarian speak = 'current awareness strategy'] [Heath
modifying some existing situation e.g. new aircraft often
1989:24].
wider or larger versions of old ones
• INVENTION – combining 2, 3 or more existing ideas in
TESTING DESIGN IDEAS
new ways e.g. Wright Bros. aeroplane
• BEWARE of becoming so attached to an idea that you
= ship's propeller + car engine + glider wings
AVOID testing it against constraints…
[Heath 1989:20-21]
be critical, be honest, keep testing CONTINUOUSLY
ORIGINALITY IN DESIGN • CHECKLISTS can be used to locate those likely
Innovative design can ALSO combine existing ideas in new constraints on design ideas [Heath 1989:24-25].
ways… startling results occur when things are combined NB. Most modern scholars & designers believe that
that seem unrelated … checklists are dangerously prescriptive: but for newcomers
To be an ORIGINAL DESIGNER requires: to design (i.e. students), they can be invaluable! Simply, use
• Unusually WIDE RANGE OF EXPERIENCE, often in them with critical discretion, as you should any of the
quite different fields theory introduced to you!
• Ability to see the CONNECTION between apparently
UNRELATED ideas. [Heath 1989:21] Limitations on representation of design processes…
IDEAL is to be simple, general and precise…
SOURCES OF IDEAS (learning to imagine) NOT POSSIBLE! e.g. Sign in engineer's office:
Listed in 'probable' order of USEFULNESS... "We provide a service which is QUICK; CHEAP; ACCURATE.
• FINISHED PRODUCTS in your field of design (or Pick any TWO."
buildings, interiors, landscape or urban settings) To be precise = use an ALGORITHM…
• OTHER ARTIFACTS, e.g. works of art "an effective procedure for solving a particular mathematical
• GEOMETRY [graphic patterns!] problem in a finite number of steps". Macquarie Dictionary
HOWEVER, design processes are NOT algorithmic…
• BEHAVIOUR PATTERNS
[Heath 1989:43]
• NATURE (land, plant, or animal form, & behaviour)
• LITERATURE (especially imaginative [speculative] sorts)
THUS to help your short term memory, ASSEMBLE examples
REFERENCES:
or a 'stock of images' : books, magazines, scrap books,
photos, sketches… ie. DAYBOOKS! [Heath 1989:22] HEATH, TOM (1989). Introduction to Design Theory, QUT
publication, especially
"Part 1, What is Design?"
Organise your IDEAS SOURCE MATERIAL "Part 2, What do designers do?"
[Heath 1989:22-23] INDEX your source material !!!! "Part 3, A General Design Heuristic"
Forms of organisation/classification…
Also read the Obituary article by Golden Holden, "Tom Heath" in
• historical development of forms Architecture Australia, Sept/Oct 1998, pg. 34.
• typological – classified by name [form]
• behavioural / functional – classified by use or purpose
• classified by shape or organisation

But simple design is also dependent on available technology:
DESIGN #6 compare on old 1920s radio to 1990s 'Walkman' radio! , or

old 1970s computers in whole rooms to today's laptops!
[THEY GET SMALLER (but not necessarily simpler!)]
What is S.A.F.E. design ?
SIMPLE
APPROPRIATE
FUNCTIONAL
ECONOMICAL S.A.F.E.: APPROPRIATE
Aim for what is an appropriate design solution: "Look at final
S.A.F.E. Design Approach design solution setting and how your design will fit into it."
(Hanks 1977:45). "Is the design honest if it is trying to be
something it is not." (Hanks 1977:47).
Most Modernists were/are very conscious of achieving
This essay explores these components of SAFE design as 'honesty in materials', albeit less common to find a call for
well as the following essentials in the creative process: contextual appropriateness. The crazy kitsch popular culture
• thinking so admired by 'hip' folk today was openly abhorred by so-
• ideation called good designers (but not the general public)! Examples
• problem solving of such naughtiness in design terms (according to Hanks and
other Modernists) include:
DESIGN… more than architecture or landscape • clock in [Venus de Milo] statuette's tummy!
HERE'S AN OLD 1970s DESIGN TEXTBOOK: • high-heels and platform shoes!
Kurt Hanks, Larry Belliston & Dave Edwards (1977). Design • elaborate fins on cars!
Yourself!. Los Altos, CA: William Kaufmann Inc.
There are some interesting ideas in here – you should be

able to benefit from them even if the actual text is out of print
and not in the library!
This book was aimed at all sorts of designers, which reminds

us that there is more than one way to skin a cat – what a
horrible notion! That is, there is more than one way to
describe and undertake the design process.
S.A.F.E. DESIGN
DESIGN IS ABOUT OPTIMISING! Say and do only what is
necessary: "simplify, summarise and stop" (Hanks 1977:36- S.A.F.E.: FUNCTIONAL
39). This kind of design approach is essentially a Achieving a functional design is more than "it works"! Here
MODERNIST APPROACH. are some important components of functional designs:
• Use the correct size type or font to read otherwise you
S.A.F.E.: SIMPLE can't read it! T hi s is v er y ti ny t ext at 4pt !
Aim for simple design solutions that are minimal in form but • 'QWERTY' keyboards: not a natural sequence of the
maximize their usefulness or effect. Some examples: alphabet! So why adopted as the standard? Because
• Director's chair early mechanical typewriters were designed to SLOW
• Paper clip DOWN the operator so the clanking parts could catch up!
• Band-aid
• Zipper
• Correct anthropometric fit (appropriate for age, gender,

etc.)
Also in this group would be early MODERNIST corporate • Psycho-social need to personalise and to have privacy
'logos'. spaces, which goes beyond how people USE spaces ot
things
• Avoid using signs that are too simple to be read properly:
e.g. avoid the overly discrete signage for fire
extinguisher or exit!

SAFE: ECONOMICAL (2) Thinking: MENTAL PRACTICE
Achieving an economic design is more than just a cheap • vizualise that target, say the sportspeople!
cost. We need to consider the demand/cost ratio; and factors • visualize getting slimmer, more confident, etc. say the
of use, price and need. New-Age people!
• DO MORE WITH LESS recycle! • Get a clear mental picture of what you want,
"one person's rubbish is another person's treasure" • then repeat (practice) it and that will help you achieve
• Don't over-economise to the point where the final it!
product has no value
• often appropriateness & functionality determine
economical value good design is a BALANCE
(3) Thinking: VISUAL THINKING

This can lead to better problem solving; Albert Einstein used
it! Here are some ways to promote visual thinking:
• Daydreaming:
• be careful that cheap construction costs don't become set aside 5-15 mins/day &
expensive maintenance costs. record those fleeting ideas & visions in a JOURNAL
• Night Dreaming:
WHAT IS "GOOD DESIGN" keep a record of those you remember
• Imagination games – FANTASISE !
To achieve 'GOOD DESIGN' depends on the CONTEXT.
"Good design is the best solution to a given problem. To
have something look good should not be the most important
consideration all the time." (Hanks 1977:56). For example we
can consider the DESIGN PROCESS. What questions would
a graphic designer ask to set the APPROPRIATE
PARAMETERS for their problem? They would include: What
is budget? How much detail needed? Who will read it? Used
in what setting ? For what purpose? These same contextual
questions arise for other designers, e.g. and what if it was a
design challenge about clothing or a garden or an office (4) Thinking: BLOCKS
interior? "Blocks are mental walls which do not allow people to
The answer is to apply S.A.F.E. design principles to… correctly perceive a problem or conceive its solution" (Hanks
1977:77).
OPTIMIZE YOUR SOLUTION ! Some sorts of blocks are:
• tendency to limit a problem too closely
THINKING • isolating a problem
The following ASPECTS OF CREATIVE THINKING will be • stereotyping
discussed: • saturation
(1) Drawing • failure to use sensory inputs
(2) Mental Practice
(3) Visual Thinking
(4) Blocks
(5) Bugs
???
(6) Numb Person
(7) Pre-Judgement
(8) Tags
(9) Habit (5) Thinking: BUGS
(10) Fear "Bugs are mental walls created by learned cultural or
(11) Preciousness environmental standards which do not allow people to
correctly or efficiently solve problems" (Hanks 1977:78).
(1) Thinking: DRAWING Some sorts of bugs:
• can be a way to understanding • taboos
• it can help you understand the structure & function of • devaluing daydreaming
items (see more in section DESIGN #8) • believing that intuition and feelings are bad
• there are many different sorts of drawings, from • tradition opposes change
manufacturers' instruction sheets or discovering • assigned cultural & social values
anatomy with da Vinci • environmental blocks
• YOU THINK IN PICTURES! Not words!
(6) Thinking: NUMB PERSON
"people often isolate themselves from their surroundings;
this makes them set in their ways." (Hanks 1977: 80).
• take time to listen to your senses smell the flowers!
• our attitudes to change are governed by our awareness
"The tragedy of life is not that we die but is what dies inside
a man while he lives." –Albert Schweitzer

(7) Thinking: PRE-JUDGEMENT (12) Thinking: SUPERBEING SYNDROME
"Prejudging a situation is another frequently occurring "Excessive pride blurs vision of reality." (Hanks 1977:87)
obstacle to progressive, creative or new behaviour." (Hanks "Moderation in all things - not too self-confident nor too shy."
1977:82).
• Avoid judgements when free-wheel brainstorming!
• Avoid negative criticism! (from yourself and others –
negative comments on other folks' concepts or actions
is a cheap way to attempt to demonstrate mental
superiority!)
Remember:
AVOID PRE-JUDGING &
NEGATIVE CRITICISM
Similarly, seeking perfection in ALL things can result in no

(8) Thinking: TAGS product
"We have a tendency to label items in our environment with
names or tags which limit our understanding or acceptance
of [them]." (Hanks 1977:83). IDEATION
• tags often stay put once there Ideation is the process of getting good ideas. For example:
• tags are usually superficial e.g. • brainstorming
beauty is only skin deep • lists
don't judge a book by its cover
• Ah-Ha!
• Projection
(9) Thinking: HABITS
"Habits are like having concrete poured into your ear – when • Synectics
it sets, your sunk!" (Hanks 1977:84). • Bionics
ie. be careful of BAD HABITS! The first design forms of the wow
motorcar resembled the horse-drawn carriage…
Each design problem deserves your OPTIMISTIC VIGOUR !
(1) Ideation: BRAINSTORMING
(10) Thinking: FEAR Hanks (1977:108-9) describes a typical session:
"Fear is one of the major blocks to effective problem-solving • think first – judge later!
and creative thinking." (Hanks 1977:85). • the wilder the ideas the better
• fear of criticism • quantity is wanted
• fear of letting someone down • combine, improve & expand ideas
• fear of trying something new • take short recesses or breaks
• evaluate your ideas
• DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
Yikes!
"…it is better to have tried and blown it that to have never
tried at all. –Ima Success."
(11) Thinking: PRECIOUSNESS

• Don't marry your problem.
• Don't get too attached… You need to separate yourself (2) Ideation: LISTS
from the problem to find those alternative answers Hanks (1977: 110-113) lists lots of helpful action verbs,
• For example: the truck that got stuck under the evaluation questions, options, etc…
underpass… the passing child knew how to get it out,
while the driver could only think of heavy & expensive REMEMBER: checklists can help you get into the problem
interventions! [but they are NOT THE SOLUTION!]
What is the answer?

(3) Ideation: AH-HA! Principle (7) Ideation: BIONICS
Hanks (1997:114) describes this as that sudden insight into Hanks (1977:126-9) describes Bionics as applying the
a problem you have been wrestling with, like Isaac Newton & ingenious inventions of nature to human-made things via
the Apple… So when you have an idea, WRITE IT DOWN! adaptation. For example
This is yet another plug for keeping design journals! • radar of bats
"Fortune
favours the
prepared mind."

• depth control of fish
– Louis Pasteur
• camera light meters (like human eye)
Hanks also described the analogy of the sponge, the egg • hypodermic fangs on snakes
and the idea, i.e. saturate + incubate = ideate! • jet propelled squids!
• visual concealment (camouflage)
• VELCRO (like burdock burr), etc.
Please don't make the classic Human error of thinking burrs
are like Velcro! Burrs came first! We copied!
Also refer to bionics in Chap. 8 in Papanek (2000):186-214.

(4) Ideation: PROJECTION PROBLEM SOLVING

Hanks (1977:116-7) recommends that you change your point The topics covered below include:
of view to 'become' the person you are designing for: "Put (1) What is the PROBLEM?
yourself into your chosen activity. See your world, and that (2) Find the essence of the problem
around you, from the outside in and the inside out." In other (3) Breaking up is easy to do
words, put yourself in someone else's shoes! (4) Information
(5) Values
(6) Design a method!
"A Man without a

goal is like shooting
a gun without a
target.
(5) Ideation: SYNECTICS – Benjamin Franklin"
This methods (Hanks 1997:121-5) is for looking at problems
in new & creative ways, over and over again.
Making the (1) WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

1 recognise & accept problem
FAMILIAR 2 understand the problem
strange 3 set some goals to help solve the problem
4 ideation - searching for new ways of possibly attaining the
major goals
Connection Connection 5 selection - best possible ways of solving the problem
Making Breaking 6 implementation - put into action your 'best ways'
7 evaluation - what are effects/results of solution
Thinking is like a
SPIRAL, almost
circular in nature.
Making the
STRANGE
familiar What is the problem? To answer the question remember:
• Find those central themes or the essence of the
There are 4 methods to make the familiar seem strange: problem
• personal analogy become the bird, or electricity, etc • Treat the cause not the symptoms attack to essence
• direct analogy, e.g. of the problem not just the results of the problem
Engineer Brunel's underwater tunnels = based on
the shipworm borrowing in wood;
Inventor Edison's telephone = based on human ear
bones & drum
• fantasy analogy such as an artist's wish-fulfilment
• symbolic analogy

(2) Breaking Up Is Easy To Do (5) Design a Method
(Hanks 1997:98) (Hanks 1997:102-104).
Attacking the problem in one bite can be too much, so break "There're as many methods of solving problems as there are
it up into manageable parts ! problems."
• Plan your work & Work your plan
• gameplans and wargames; strategic planning for
battles…
e.g. have you read this excellent science fiction novel
that many business schools have as a set text to spice
up their reading lists on management?
"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card 
or 'Swiss Cheese it!'

If the problem seems too big to tackle, nibble away at it (deal
with small parts of the whole), until it resembles Swiss
cheese and the whole is a size you can tackle!
(3) INFORMATION
(Hanks 1997:100)
• the more information we have the better chance of a i.e. Humans versus giant bugs!
good solution
• you can't drink from an empty bucket!
Finally... PROBLEM-SOLVING REMINDER:
• Keep an open mind
• Look at the problem
• learn from others
• Develop a plan to solve it
• read & listen
• Work at the plan
• try new things
• Evaluate your plan
• experience
• [but watch out for information overload!]
(4) VALUES
(Hanks 1997:101)
Learn to evaluate information appropriately S.A.F.E. DESIGN REFERENCES:
to assess its value for problem solving Evans, David (1995). How to write a Better Thesis or Report.
Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
discard the unnecessary data - what is relevant, what is not
and what is its usefulness? Kurt Hanks, Larry Belliston & Dave Edwards (1977). Design
Yourself! Los Altos, CA: William Kaufmann Inc.
Papanek, Victor (2000). Design for the Real World, 2 nd revised
edition. London: Thames & Hudson.
Aside: What is DATA? (Evans 1995:89-90)
"Data + test hypotheses = INFORMATION

(what the data means).
Information + conclusions = KNOWLEDGE.
Knowledge + integration (into way of thinking) = WISDOM."

(1) DIMENSIONAL PATTERNS
DESIGN #7 2 DIMENSIONAL = shapes
Patterns are all around us: in nature

and the built environment. We can
understand and use patterns to
make better and more interesting
designs.
Pattern Assisted Design (PAD)

Purpose of section is to become familiar with…
• WHAT ARE PATTERNS?
• CLASSIFYING PATTERNS
• DIMENSIONAL PATTERNS
• FIGURE / GROUND PATTERNS
• TURNER'S ARCHYTYPES
(groups of PATTERNS)
• USES OF PATTERNS IN DESIGN
• Pattern Assisted Design (PAD)
WHAT ARE PATTERNS?

There are many applications or meanings of the word
patterns, including:
• a decorative design
• a style or type in general
• a model or example from which to make copies
• a motif in repetition, and so on. There are also freeform SHAPES and combinations of
rectilinear, triangular or circular geometries).
CLASSIFYING PATTERNS
For design purposes, this essay explores several kinds of 3 DIMENSIONAL = volumes
patterns, three of many others that are possible. These
include:
• Dimensional patterns ( Euclidian geometry)
• 2D, 3D & 4D
• Figure / Ground patterns
• Tom Turner's 4 types of patterns (Primary, Secondary,
Tertiary & Quaternary).
Again, there are freeform FORMS and combinations of

cubic/prismatic, pyramidal, spherical, tubular and drum
forms.

4 DIMENSIONAL = time & movement "One wants to improve what has been built, and not to spoil
what is yet to be done." [Alberti]
Figure-ground Plan of Jolpur, Indian city [Cooper 1983:47].
One of the first figure-ground plans of a city was of Rome by

Italian Giambattista Nolli published in 1748. He considered
the continuous free access to churches to be in the same
category as open space, hence these buildings were drawn
as 'ground' or white space.
MOVEMENT through space can vary: fast or slow, smooth or
jerky, upwards, downwards and so. Each mode effects the
experience of the space and things within that space.
TIME can be experienced at various scales and be marked

by observations of the changes and events that occur during
that period. These changes include:
• solar patterns (day & night)
• lunar patterns (over month)
• seasonal patterns (over year)
• generational patterns, etc.
(2) FIGURE / GROUND patterns

Using figure/ground plans are an abstract representational
technique for urban form analysis and design.
figure = solid = mass
ground = void = space
Reference: Cooper, Wayne (1983) "The Figure/Grounds" The

Cornell Journal of Architecture 3: 42-53
FIGURE / GROUND for urban form analysis & design

Here are a few observations about using figure/ground
analysis.
"the medieval voids cut out of solids as contrasted with the

modern solids placed in a void." [Cooper pg. 44]
"If history is a continuum, then the notion of context may be

effectively argued and may reasonably demand attention."
[Cooper pg. 53]
Extracts, Nolli's plan of Rome, endpapers in Mauduit 1989.

SOLID & VOID RELATIONSHIPS (mass and space) (3) TURNER'S Types of Patterns
Some issues:
• DOMINANT SOLIDS (mass) in a void (space) SOURCE: Tom Turner's City as Landscape (1996 : 34-36)
• DOMINANT VOIDS (spaces) shaped by solids (masses)
• REVERSIBILITY (e.g. white objects in black background)
• HIERARCHY: inside / outside / between
[Cooper 1983]
Radburn
Garden City, [Turner 1996:34]
New Jersey
PRIMARY = natural patterns
• GEOLOGY shown on maps; e.g. rock strata, soil
types
• ECOLOGY shown on maps; e.g. patches & corridors
of vegetation etc.
[Mann 1993:225] • HYDROLOGY shown on maps; e.g. rivers, lakes,
DOMINANT SOLIDS in a void oceans
• BIOLOGY plant/animal forms and growth patterns
Doge's Palace
San Marco church
Belltower
Piazza San Marco

(St. Mark's Square)
[Mann 1993:149] See more in section DESIGN #2.

DOMINANT VOIDS shaped by solids
SECONDARY = human patterns
• BUILDINGS e.g. 3D volumes & 2D figure/ground games
• ROADS e.g. 2D linear networks, prioritised sizes
• FIELDS e.g. 2D patches, corridors, textures, colours

The AIM of this sort of design: to achieve "the quality without
a name" (i.e. a Taoist approach). The closest Alexander got
to naming this quality was TIMELESS (after trying alive,
whole, comfortable, free, exact, egoless & eternal). These
patterns fall into 3 categories:
• SETTLEMENT ARCHETYPES
• BUILDING ARCHETYPES
• GARDEN ARCHETYPES
Comments from Turner…1996:24-28

• ENEMIES of pattern language:
positivism & empiricism, capitalism & consumerism,
Field patterns individualism & totalitarianism, postmodernism &
formalism, relativism & gigantism etc. i.e. political,
TERTIARY = aesthetic patterns epistemological, aesthetic & ideological enemies
• ART – both innovative creations and design pattern • FRIENDS of pattern language:
books! psychology & behavioural studies, ecology & landscape
• STORIES – morals explained by parables, myths, ecology, oral traditions (storytelling), geomorphological &
legends, fairy stories etc. growth patterns, visual & design patterns.
• MUSIC . . . etc.
"They may derive from geometry, mathematics, decoration, CAUTIONARY POINTS about PATTERN
representation, mythology, symbolism, allegory, metaphor, LANGUAGE:
abstraction, philosophy, poetry, music and narrative." Turner Scientific method /positivism objects to the inability of
1996:34 Pattern Language type design to be "objectively quantifiable"
THUS,
• TREAT EACH PATTERN CRITICALLY
• ignore the proscriptive/absolutist tone
• scrutinise for aptness to local circumstances (especially
climatic suitability ; e.g. #105 south-facing outdoors not
sunny in southern hemisphere, but shade is what is
needed in warmer climates.
e.g. indigenous stories and art: THESE PATTERNS CONTAIN RELATIVE TRUTHS NOT
ABSOLUTE TRUTHS
"I conceive that land belongs for use to a vast family of

which many are dead, few are living, and countless
members are still unborn. –– a Nigerian tribesman."
[Alexander 1977:37].
"In a sense, at least a part of the language we have

presented here, is the archetypal core of all possible pattern
languages, which can make people feel alive and human."
[Alexander 1977:xvii].
Zane Saunders "Spoonbill Tell Me a Story" (1995-96) There are a total of 253 patterns that comprise Pattern
linocut on paper [Postcard ex QAG]. Language. Here are a few selected examples of those
ARCHETYPAL PATTERNS:
# 31 = Promenade pg.168
QUATERNARY = archetypal patterns # 59 = Quiet Backs pg.301
Source: Christopher Alexander et al (1977). Pattern # 61 = Small Public Squares pg.310
Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction and partner to # 106 = Positive Outdoor Space pg.517
previous The Timeless Way of Building. # 119 = Arcades pg.580
# 121 = Path Shape pg.589
What is 'Pattern Language' & the timeless way of building? # 176 = Garden Seat pg.815
"The elements of this language are entities called patterns.
Each pattern describes a problem which occurs over and
over again in our environment, and then describes the core
solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this
solution a million times over, without ever doing it the same
way twice." Alexander et al (1977), pg. X
ARCHETYPES are used to solve recurrent problems in a

satisfactory manner to suit human needs etc. the
successes of vernacular architecture. Archetypes so called
by Tom Turner about Christopher Alexander's (et al) Pattern
Language.

# 31 = Promenade [Alexander 1977:168-173] # 61 = Small Public Squares [Alexander 1977:310-314]
"A town needs public squares; they are the largest, most
public rooms, that the town has. But when they are too large,
they look and feel deserted."
usually 45-60 ft (15-20m) across and never more than 70
ft (c.24m) across – and longer in the other direction OK.
# 106 = Positive Outdoor Space [Alexander 1977:517-523]
"Each subculture needs a center for its public life: a place

where you can go to see people, and to be seen."
"encourage the gradual formation of a promenade at the
heart of every community, linking the main activity nodes,
and placed centrally, so that each point in the community is
within 10 minutes' walk of it. Put main points of attraction at
the two ends, to keep a constant movement up and down."
# 59 = Quiet Backs [Alexander 1977:301-303]

"Outdoor spaces which are merely 'left over' between
buildings will, in general, not be used."
"Make all the outdoor spaces which surround and lie
between your buildings positive. Give each one some degree
of enclosure; surround each space with wings of buildings,
trees, hedges, fences, arcades, and trellised walks, until it
becomes an entity with a positive quality and does not spill
out indefinitely around the corners."
# 119 = Arcades [Alexander 1977: 580-584]
"Any one who has to work in noise, in offices with people all
around, needs to be able to pause and refresh [themselves]
with quiet in a more natural situation"
"Arcades – covered walkways at the edge of buildings, which

are partly inside, partly outside – play a vital role in the way
that people interact with buildings.

# 121 = Path Shape [Alexander 1977: 589-592] CONCLUSION about USES OF PATTERNS in design
• to analyse existing urban form (identify context)
• to recognise natural systems / flows
• to design in sympathy with existing physical contexts &
processes (with surrounds or with environment)
• to inspire creativity (in designer & user!)
• to make places people enjoy (i.e. pleasurable, safe,
exciting, familiar, unusual), etc.
"If you can't draw a diagram, it isn't a pattern.

(Christopher Alexander)"
[Turner 1996:157].
PATTERN ASSISTED DESIGN (PAD)

Tom Turner's 4 kind of patterns…
• PRIMARY = natural
• SECONDARY = human
• TERTIARY = aesthetic
• QUATERNARY = archetypal
PAD approaches use these forms of patterns (singly or
together) to help generate creative design solutions.
PAD is an addition to traditional design methods.
"Streets should be for staying in, and not just for moving
REFERENCES
through, the way they are today." Cooper, W. W. (1983), "The Figure/Grounds." Cornell Journal of
"Make a bulge in the middle of a public path, and make the Architecture. 3: pp. 42-53.
ends narrower, so that the path forms an enclosure which is
Turner, Tom (1996), City as Landscape, London: Spon.
a place to stay, not just a place to pass through."
Alexander, Christopher et al (1977), A Pattern Language: Towns,
Buildings, Construction, New York: Oxford University Press
# 176 = Garden Seat [Alexander 1977:815-817] Mauduit, Caroline (1988). An Architect in Italy. New York: Clarkson
N. Potter publishers.
Mann, William A. (1993). Landscape Architecture: an illustrated
history in timelines, site plans, and biography. New York: John
Wiley.
"Somewhere in every garden, there must be at least one

spot, a quiet garden seat, in which a person – or two people
– can reach into themselves and be in touch with nothing
else but nature."

VISUALIZING = processing of visual data
DESIGN #8 [Ching 1990: 16-19]

• mind searching data for structure & meaning
• seeing with the mind's eye (scan-hold-project-draw)
Drawing is a vital tool for creativity, • drawing helps sharpen our perception of: proportion,
and design thrives on creativity! structure, details…
• drawing from memory: "by encouraging attentive
seeing, drawing reinforces visual memory"
CREATIVITY, DRAWING and • drawing beyond the present possibilities and
projections.
DESIGN
EXPRESSING = graphic representation of our perception
& understanding
[Ching 1990: 20-21]
Francis D. K. Ching's book Drawing: a Creative Process
(1990) is the basis of this section. He believes that a • combination of outer reality we see & inner imagery of
designer can generate CREATIVITY through DRAWING. mind's eye
There are three main interactive aspects to this process: • expressing shapes and forms, forms and spaces,
• SEEING density and texture, light and shade, movement and
direction
• VISUALIZING
• expressive qualities of lines – "The visual
• EXPRESSING
characteristics of a drawn line also have the power of
Other aspects include: ENVISIONING, which can be
suggestion."
achieved through drawing from the IMAGINATION and
drawing by EXPLORATION; and, SPECULATION – drawing
Drawings as tools for…
and creativity.
[Ching 1990: 28-33]
"Fluency in drawing promotes the fluent generation of ideas."
[Ching 1990:10] • REPRESENTATION
(= realistic impressions of objects, scenes, etc.)
CREATIVITY: in drawing process • VISUALIZATION
SEEING = visual perception [Ching 1990:12-15] (= how it works in action, exploratory drawings of
• the primary sensory channel (eye to mind) possible concepts, etc.)
• seeing is selective e.g. looking for the time of day; • COMMUNICATION
searching for a face in the crowd; watching for moving (= to convey a message or information EXPLICITLY)
vehicles.
• seeing from different viewpoints (painter, botanist,
designer…)
• seeing in context
[Ching 1990:32]
ENVISIONING : Drawing with Imagination

drawing as a graphic means to visual thought using the
[Ching 1990:13]
mind's eye to:
• TRANSFORM
• SIMPLIFY (Perception: from concrete to abstract)
• IMPROVISE (Imagination: from the abstract to concrete)
• EXPLORE (Different types of drawing views and
viewpoints)
• Thinking on paper [Ching 1990: 140-145]
[Ching 1990:15]
[Ching 1990:183]

ENVISIONING : Drawing by Exploration Speculation ~ be flexible
[Ching 1990: 182-183] [Ching 1990:188-9]
EXPLORATIVE DRAWINGS ARE INTERACTIVE … • be open to exploring a variety of approaches
• searching for patterns and/or meanings different drawing media, drawing techniques, points
• manipulating elements (structures, proportion, of view
components) • how we draw affects the unconscious direction of our
• creating the illusion of depth & movement thinking... be willing to ask, "what if ..."
• fluency & flexibility must be coupled with judgment &
electivity
[Ching 1990:183]
CREATIVITY : Speculation
[Ching 1990: 184-198]
ASPECTS OF SPECULATION:
• trust in intuition
• multitude of possibilities [Ching 1990:188]
• take advantage of change
• be fluent ; be flexible ; tolerate ambiguity Speculation ~ tolerate ambiguity
• see in new ways [Ching 1990:190-1]
• make connections ; recognize patterns While exploring unknown territory (creative process) you
• be selective need to have …
• a sense of wonder
Speculation ~ trust in intuition • the patience to suspend judgment
[Ching 1990:184] • a tolerance of ambiguity
• intuition is based on informed experience Exploratory drawings are open-ended and able to be adapted
• can be used as a guide to search for possibilities & to to developing needs
outline choices
• "a hunch is creativity trying to tell you something" Be open to chance & discovery
(Frank Capra, film-maker)
• "doodling is brooding of the hand" (Saul Steinberg)
Speculation ~ a multitude of possibilities

[Ching 1990:184]
Accept worth of incomplete drawings within design process
• descriptive words to images
• collage of images
• collection of details
• plan views of horizontal relationships
• section views of vertical relationships
• structural patterns [Ching 1990:190]
• site and context
Speculation ~ see in new ways
Speculation ~ take advantage of change [Ching 1990:192-3]
[Ching 1990:185] A creative imagination regards old questions from new
• use first sketches like an outline for an essay set angles:
down the essentials and work up from there • vary the point of view
• sift out the important features, discard rest • fragment, sort, rearrange
• use the act of drawing out an idea as a stimulant for • work at various scales
alternative strategies • mirror images
• see inside things
Speculation ~ be fluent • see the part and how it fits within the whole
[Ching 1990:186-7]
• generate wide range of possibilities/ ideas
• develop drawing ability to keep up with flow of thoughts
• first develop deliberate / accurate skills; speed without
judgment is counter-productive
• speed comes with practice & repetition over time
• develop drawing efficiency
• what is needed, what to omit to communicate idea
See more in section GRAPHICS #8.

Speculation ~ analysis and synthesis
[Ching 1990:196-7]
• analysing – breaking things down into manageable parts
• synthesizing – combining or rearranging elements
Both are part of the creative process.
[Ching 1990:192]
[Ching 1990:196]
Speculation ~ make connections / recognise patterns
[Ching 1990:194-5]
TRANSFORMING a drawing by using tracing paper
• making new connections crucial to forming new overlays for…
conceptions
• Studying possible compositions
• perceive the configurations of significant similarities &
• Drawing oblique views
differences among elements
• trying out different formats
• several layers of patterns = several layers of meaning
• combining parts in a new way
Speculation ~ be selective
[Ching 1990:198]
• "a creative search can add up to nothing if we lose the
focus"
• after imagining, exploring, speculating ... be selective &
temper the DIVERGENT thinking with CONVERGENT
thinking to regain the focus
• Which brings us back to HOW TO DESIGN …
[Ching 1990:194]
[Ching 1990:198]
[Ching 1990:195]
CREATIVE DRAWING REFERENCES:
CHING, FRANCIS D. K. (1990), Drawing: a Creative Process, New

York: Van Nostrand Reinhold
SULLIVAN, CHIP (1995), Drawing the Landscape, New York: Van
Nostrand Reinhold
"Drawing without thinking is a dead end."
[Ching 1990:199]

DESIGN #9 SPORTSFIELDS STANDARDS
CRICKET: 160m x 142 m minimum [ Tutt 1990:222]
Size DOES matter!!
ANTHROPOMETRY and
ERGONOMICS for
DESIGNERS
Designers must develop a sense of scale on many levels, for
example: for functional reasons – to make things safe and
comfortable for users and the environment; and, for aesthetic
reasons – to achieve an appropriate proportion and visual
character.
'ANTHROPOMETRY'
= the measurement of the size and proportion of the human
body
'ERGONOMICS'
= the study of the engineering aspects of the relationship
between human workers and their working environment
[Macquarie Dictionary, 3 rd edition] TENNIS [ Tutt 1990:222] :
WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?

Designers need to know the SPACE REQUIREMENTS to
design for:
• People (all sorts, sizes, genders, ages, abilities)
• Cars, buses, trucks and bicycles etc.
• Active sports and passive recreational pursuits etc.
DESIGNERS DEVELOP ESTIMATING SKILLS AS PART OF

THEIR DESIGN TOOLBOX.
E.g.
• How long is a metre?
• How long is 300mm, or 25mm?
• How wide is that door?
VEHICULAR widths, lengths, turning-circles…
• How high is that ceiling or that tree?
• What is your ordinary walking gait?
Tutt 1990:54
NB Local Governments (especially large ones) can provide
A the most up-to-date preferred carpark sizes and vehicular
turning circles.
ANTHROPOMETRICS: Measuring people

• What is the widest part of a person to help find a
suitable width for a path (A, B, or C)?
• Does this alter when swinging arms and legs are taken
into account?
 refer to image left

People are different in several ways. There are three main
ANTHROPOMETRICS: percentiles categories of HUMAN VARIABILITY:
Designers consider the variation of sizes with populations:
• mean = average • INTRA-INDIVIDUAL: sizes change during one's life due
• 5 th percentile = smaller sizes to aging, nutrition, damage…
• 95 th percentile = larger sizes asymmetrical faces why we dislike the camera's
image (we are used to seeing ourselves in the mirror –
Height (in inches) horizontal axis the other way-around!)
• INTER-INDIVIDUAL: differences due to sex, ethnic and

racial groups, also influenced by nutrition, medical
problems, etc
Number
•
of
• SECULAR VARIABILITY: the changes over generations
people
due to nutritional & medical improvements or
(vertical
deprivations [typically outside the realm of the
axis)
designer?]
SOURCE: Dreyfuss 1993:11
ANTHROPOMETRICS: variations
Dreyfuss 1993:22
99 percentile MAN = 1920mm height

50 percentile MAN = 1755mm height
Dreyfuss 1993:11 (USA) 1 percentile MAN = 1590mm height
Calculating Percentiles
PERCENTILE Included
99.9 = Mean + (3 x SD) 99.8 %
85 = Mean + (1.04 X SD) 70 %
75 = Mean + (0.67 X SD) 50 %
50 = Mean
25 = Mean - (0.67 X SD) 50 %
10 = Mean - (1.28 X SD) 80 %
0.1 = Mean - (3 x SD) 99.8 %
Dreyfuss 1993:11
SD = Standard Deviation, which can be found by the formula:
SD = √ (∑(d)²)÷ N), where,

∑ = summation,
Remember: refer to texts at end of this section for more data
d = difference between one person's measurement and
on standard sizes of people and activities.
the arithmetic mean of that measurement
N = number of people in survey.

ANTHROPOMETRICS: 50 th percentile British MALE ANTHROPOMETRICS: 50 th percentile British FEMALE
(1970s) (1970s)
Variations also
occur over time: Variations within
people have nations: Northern
become bigger & English women
taller over the last wear larger bras
than in the south!
few centuries. Why?
Why?
TUTT 1990:24
TUTT 1990:23
ANTHROPOMETRICS: groups of people ERGONOMICS: e.g. lifting correctly #2
TUTT 1990:30 Citing German sources.

ROUNDING UP to multiples of 300mm: based on standard
MATERIALS sizes
Dul & Weerdmeester 1993:6
ANTHROPOMETRICS: seating ERGONOMICS: e.g. using your desk properly!
CORRECT
HEIGHTS matter!
e.g. of the chair,
desk, keyboard,
monitor, etc.
Roebuck 1993:121 OUCH! OUCH!

NB: USA researched for NASA they use 99%ile to POSTURE matters!
accommodate big men! Protecting your back for the long term! (Both these positions
are both BAD for your back!)
'ERGONOMICS'
If ergonomics is the study of the engineering aspects of the GOOD LIGHTING matters!
relationship between human workers and their working Get the correct intensity
environment – then we need to know the basics as ordinary and appropriate direction
people and as designers. if you are right-handed,
then ensure light comes
ERGONOMICS: e.g. lifting correctly #1 from the left (thus avoiding
shadows cast by your own
hand, etc.
NO! YES!
Dul & Weerdmeester 1993:33. If the load is 20kg, then,
(a) has 30% MORE back stress than (b), OUCH! DANGER matters! Never use a 4 roller chair (they overturn
easily); 5 rollers is the way to go!

GOOD SIGNAGE (part of ergonomics too) POOR SIGNAGE DESIGN UPDATE
SIGNAGE MUST BE LEGIBLE! Check out this website…
• Clear letters http://www.baddesigns.com/dorothy.html
• Sufficient contrast (lettering to background) e.g. Which is the student's ID number?
• Clear language (simple AND accurate)
• Sensibly located in space (unobscured, related to
subject referring to, etc.)
"Photographic image courtesy of www.baddesigns.com". The

Bad Designs Web site can be referenced as "Darnell, M. J.
Bad Human Factors Designs, www.baddesigns.com, 2000".
WEAR & TEAR as indicators of poor design

Dul & Weerdmeester 1993:47 REMINDER – people prefer to walk the shortest distance
between 2 points: e.g.
VITAL SIGNAGE really must be legible! • Wear lines at path intersections and corners indicate
'cutting the corner' movements
• Wear lines across grassed areas indicate preferred

pathways
3 rd level A BLOCK, QUT/GP
AVOID MISLEADING SIGNAGE

Signs are used everywhere and they should be well designed
to be effective.
• many sorts of signs rely on the reader being able to
understand the particular language (e.g. English,
mathematics, abbreviations or symbols) to understand
the intention or meaning
Photographic images courtesy of www.baddesigns.com

The Bad Designs Web site can be referenced as
"Darnell, M. J. Bad Human Factors Designs,
www.baddesigns.com, 2000".
e.g. astronomical symbols for planets in our Solar System.
e.g. Standard (universal) signs and symbols.
• Be careful about specific directions and double

meanings

WEAR & TEAR: on walls & furniture CHALLENGES MATRIX
Table of Handicap / Site Element Relationship
Manual (Partial0
Visual (Partial)
Manual (Total)
Audio (Partial)
(b) wheelchair
Visual (Total)
Audio (Total)
LIMITATION
(b) crutches
Mobility (a)
PHYSICAL
Temporary
(b) walker
(b) cane
Activity
SITE
ELEMENTS
Paving surfaces
Natural surfaces
Kerbs
Drainage
Grades
Intersections
E.g. room A311 in A block, GP at QUT. Ramps

Another indicator of poor design… Stairs
Rubbing/dirty marks on walls/posts denote wear by people or Handrails
furniture or both
Gates
Solution dado lines and skirting boards do more than just Railings
cover joins!
Waiting Areas
BARRIER-FREE DESIGN Drop-off zones
Parking areas
= good design (UNIVERSAL DESIGN)
• Temporary impairments – typically just mobility… Planting
• Permanent impairments – mobility, seeing, hearing, Lighting
manual dexterity Signage
• Partial and Total impairments Playgrounds
See Challenges matrix from Robinette (1985) on next page. Camping
Picnicking
Interpret. Trails
Spectator areas
Fishing
Boating
Swimming
Users of crutches, walkers, walking sticks Seating

Tables
Public Phones
Drink. Fountains
Trash bins
Adapted from Robinette, 1985:19.

Older folk and children
ANTHROPOMETRIC REFERENCES
Check out Lecturer Andrew Scott's excellent resource materials

Pregnant women; plump /tall /short people listed ONLINE for ADB212 Ergonomics for Industrial Designers
(here at QUT)
Tandy, Cliff ed. (1984 or later), Handbook of Urban Design,
London: Architectural Press.
Tutt, Patricia and David Adler eds.(1979), New Metric Handbook,
London: Architectural Press.
Neufert, Ernest (1988), Architects' Data, Oxford : BSP Professional.
Wheelies (all sorts)
Henry Dreyfuss Associates (1993), The Measure of Man and
Woman: Human Factors in Design, Whitney Library of Design
series, New York: Watson/Guptill.
Henry Dreyfuss Associates (1991), Humanscale 7/8/9 Manual,
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Dul, J. and B. Weerdmester (1998), Ergonomics for Beginners: A
Vision impaired Quick Reference Guide, London: Taylor & Francis.
Robinette, Gary O. (1985), Barrier-free Exterior Design: anyone can
go anywhere, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Hearing impaired
DESIGNERS MUST BE INCLUSIVE !
Users of public spaces include all sorts of people (size,
gender, age, ability) – with varying needs.

The fundamental flaw in this process was in desiring to
DESIGN #10 undertake such gruesome and inhumane ideas in the first
place. Thus, whatever the original objectives of a design
project, the context of ethics, lawfulness and social
Finding the successes & failures in responsibility also should be taken into account. "Just
design is vital if you are to following orders" is not a reasonable excuse for bad
behaviour or bad design.
improve your design skills!
The benefits of POEs include:
• human benefits – by helping to make environments more
Post Occupancy Evaluation humane, appropriate, equitable, accessible, enjoyable,
(POE) safe and responsive
• professional benefits – by reducing legal problems,
increasing the excellence of design products (and so
improve the reputations of designers), and helping
The new building and its surroundings are complete; the practitioners to make informed decisions.
users have taken up residence and operations are underway. (Based on Preiser 1988:38).
The design receives a reward or two from the RAIA, AILA
and even the lighting engineers. But how does the complex Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
really work? Are the users and the owners pleased with the (CPTED, pronounced sep-ted) is a recent additional factor in
result? How do you find out if a design in the built achieving good design. It is believed that proper design and
environment is effective and who does this evaluation? This effective (legimiate) use of the built environment can lead to
essay discusses these questions and more. reductions in the incidence of crime and of fear among
users, and ultimately create an improved quality of life.
The often-neglected stage in the design process is that of Normally, these ideas are applied at the beginning of the
evaluating the success or failure of a designed product. This design stage and continue through implementation, because
not limited to architecture or interior design; it is a common 'retrofitting' can become very expensive. However, POE
failing across the built environment disciplines. The POE should also assess the effectiveness of CPTED in the
provides necessary feedback to improve the next design completed designed place.
project and correct problems found in already completed
works. Unfortunately, it is seldom budgeted for and Research Methods
frequently the only indications of the need for a POE comes Lynch and Hack (1998) list these data gathering research
from the large number of items on a defects schedule (seen techniques in their chapter "The User"; they are suitable for
as the builder's problem) and subsequent maintenance fuelling the analysis of existing sites before design change
problems (seen as the owner's problem), and occasionally a occurs and for POE.
law suit (seen as everyone's problem – designers, builders These techniques include:
and owners).
Indirect Behaviour circuits Forced choice
Post occupancy evaluations combine techniques from observation Selected behaviour Memories
several social science disciplines (e.g. environmental Past choices Experiments Predictions
psychology and sociology) and from good design practice. Precedents Direct Empathy
The personal undertaking POEs can include specialist or Archives communication Site visits
generalist consultants such as environmental psychologists, Content Interviews Group
landscape architects, architects, construction managers and analysis Activity logs interviews
others. The process of undertaking a POE resembles the Traces Naming problems Participant
logical step-by-step process of the traditional design method, Formal studies Images observation
and is fundamentally: Direct Preferences Self-observation
Data collection analysing data presenting findings. observation Semantic
However, in true scientific mode, before the real data can be Behaviour differential
collected, the researcher needs to determine the appropriate settings
research technique/s, the limitations of their research (time, Movements
resources, area to be studied, etc.) and thus develop their patterns
real research goals.
In environmental psychology, Gifford (1997:12) provides 2
The typical measuring stick in this analytical operation is the lists of research techniques:
original brief to the designer; what were the objectives and STANDARD SOCIAL SCIENCES TECHNIQUES:
goals of the intended design? By comparing these • Naturalistic observation and description
performance objectives with the perceived outcomes of the • Interviews
design, one can begin to ascertain the effectiveness of the • Rating scales
design. However, there may be other factors that should be • Laboratory experiments
considered: Were the original objectives appropriate? Has • videotaping
the context or other circumstances changed the relevance of
these objectives? For instance, the effectiveness of Nazi and OTHER TECHNIQUES UNIQUE TO ENVIRONMENTAL
concentration camps at achieving "the final solution" (the PSYCHOLOGY:
elimination of perceived undesirable elements in society: • personal space studies
Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and communists) could be
• cognitive maps
argued to be relatively successful. Fortunately, their ultimate
• movement through buildings/spaces
success was not achieved, but the processes of mass-
genocide did become more and more efficient.

Another list of ways of RECORDING USE AND MOVEMENT In summary, a POE should be able to identify the major
THROUGH SPACE includes: problems and perhaps suggest courses of action to correct
• Mapping (using lines = visitor routes) these problems, and identify the strengths and successes
• Videotaping about the place.
• Slow motion photography
• Stop-gap photography
• Counting people – both incoming and outgoing
• Activity descriptions (written, or draw 'shorthand' icon, or POE REFERENCES:
stickers, etc.) Gifford, Robert (1997), Environmental Psychology: Principles and
• Behavioural traces = find wear lines on fabric (through Practice, 2nd Edition, Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
grass, grubby marks on walls, etc.) Kaplan, Stephen and Rachel Kaplan (eds) (1982), Humanscape:
Environments for People, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Ulrich's
Books.
Lynch, K. and Gary Hack (1998), Site Planning. 3rd edition first
published 1984, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Marcus, C.C. and C. Francis (eds) (1990), People Places: Design
Guidelines for Urban Open Space. Van Nostrand
Reinhold: NY.
Moughtin, Cliff, Rafael Cuesta, Christine Sarris and Paola Signoretta
(1999), Urban Design: Method and Techniques, Oxford:
Architectural Press.
Preiser, W.F.E. et al (1980), "A Post–Occupancy Evaluation of the
Wentworth Building", University of Sydney, NSW.
Whyte, William (1980), The Social Life In Small Urban Spaces.
Conservation Foundation: Washington D.C.
CPTED sources:
Placing such record data into context is vital. Thus, the
research should include finding out basic data on the International Security Management & Crime Prevention Institute:
existing physical character of the place being studied, local http://www.cpted.com.au/home.html
climate, safety conditions, current maintenance regimes, International CPTED Association (ICA):
type and extent of facilities, the character of surrounding http://www.cpted.net/home.html
buildings/open spaces and adjacent activities, etc.
Consideration of activities within the study area at different Unpublished BBE/QUT student project reports from PSB462
times of the day, week, month, and during different seasons Conservation and Management (2001):
is equally important to gaining a well-rounded story about the "Post-Occupancy Evaluation of X & Y Courtyard,"
place. Background data on users (profiles) should include
gathering information on gender, age, discipline/education, "Post-Occupancy Evaluation of V Block Podium," Christopher,
and origin (workplace, residence, or birthplace, depending Villian et al.
on the situation under study). "Post-Occupancy Evaluation of D Block Yard,"
Analysis of Data for POE and presentation of results

Different data gathering techniques require different
analytical approaches. Some approaches are graphic and
subjective; some are quantifiable and can be tabulated or
qualitative and thus have to be described. Normally, a
combination of techniques is used. Some other ways of
presenting quantitative data include bar charts, tables, pie
diagrams and graphs. The use of computer software in these
circumstances is well worthwhile. Maps and plans and
similar diagrams can provide necessary spatial information
and context. Poems and mental maps can provide a concise
précis of qualitative interpretations. Depending on each site
and its character, the major findings about users could
include: the types of activities undertaken; their frequency
and extent of use; feedback about levels of comfort and
safety; and, other subjective responses about the place –
feelings towards and desires about the place.

Systems approach to planning
DESIGN #11 "Under the systems concept, planning occurs at three

different levels:
(1) master planning for the establishment of goals,
Where are you going? How? objectives, and broad policies
(2) resource-allocation planning for the project and
What are you doing? Why? facilitating systems
(3) operations planning for each of the planning systems…
A substantial part of planning involves discovering and
Vision Statements, Goals & defining problem areas… "
Objectives
There are many variables in MASTER PLANNING, which
means the process is unstructured and requires imagination
In your design studios, lecturers and tutors will be asking for and creative thinking to succeed.
a clear description (demonstrating a understanding by you) [See M c Loughlin 1970:124]
of your design goals, objectives or similar terms. Always WHY objectives are needed
check with your lecturer what they mean by these terms. "In simplest terms physical planning is an attempt to satisfy
Here is a preliminary attempt to grasp what we are talking human and social aims by providing appropriate and well
about. places buildings and facilities."
"The failings of intuitive planning are twofold. First, even the

greatest and most humane thinker cannot accurately sense
Vision Statements the precise problems and priorities of his fellow citizens.
These are used in landscape design and planning schemes Second, the conviction that these is only one particular way
as 'mood' setters to the proposed designs…e.g. …to enrich of satisfying these wants is unlikely to be right." [Source:
the economic diversity of the local community... Heywood 1974:52]
POTENTIAL PITFALLS:
• being to vague ('motherhood' statements)
• using voguish language (alienates the public) Ways of discovering objectives
• being pretentious (alienates everybody)... In WESTERN SOCIETIES… there exists
• advanced educational systems
• freedom of speech
DEFINITION: design GOALS & objectives • advanced/widespread communication technology
GOALS (broad & general statements), supplemented by... • formal democratic structure
THUS, by lobbying, by polling, by seeking opinions, by
OBJECTIVES (fuller detailed statements, describing what informing & consulting with community… objectives can be
must be attained in order to achieve goals) prepared. [Source: Heywood 1974:53]
[Source: M c Loughlin 1970:106-109]
You can use objectives to test whether a project is

successful or not… i.e. performance criteria… Th e SO C I AL & PLAN N I N G
PRO C ESSES
Some types of goals in 'physical planning':
• AESTHETIC QUALITIES Where do objectives and values and
e.g. Ancient Greece, Renaissance & Baroque Eras, City policies fit in?
Beautiful Movement (19th-20th centuries)
• HEALTHY & SANITARY LIVING CONDITIONS
especially important since 19th century SOCIAL PROCESSES PLANNING PROCESSES
• ECONOMIC HEALTH Values Objectives
linked with growth, global economy issues etc.
• ACCESSIBILITY Activities Policies
opportunity for interaction [& for the disadvantaged!]
• COMPREHENSIVENESS Land Uses Plans
striving for total welfare of a community, rather than
partial [health] or sectorial [the wealthy] interests alone.
10 H e y w o o d 19 74 :6 8
Who formulates goals?

In physical planning, goals & objectives require dialogue
between 'professionals' and 'politicians'
• where professionals include planners and other advisers
(medicos, engineers, architects, lawyers, teachers,
welfare professionals, etc.),
• and politicians include those elected representatives
and other groups (trade unions, management
associations, churches, neighbourhood associations,
welfare groups, minority groups, etc.)
[Source: M c Loughlin 1970:120-121]

SUMMARY DEFINITIONS:
by Glenn THOMAS
Associate Professor (Landscape Architecture) at QUT:
[Pers. com. 24/1/2000]
"VISION
– the stars you are trying to reach & they to be far enough
away to make you stretch for them.
GOAL (or AIM)

– the star you definitely want to get your hands on to have a
sense of achievement at the end
OBJECTIVES
– the (dare I say it?) generic steps you need to take to
(a) reach the target star and (b) provide you with the
performance measures that demonstrate you have reached
your goal (or achieved your aim). I have used generic
because there is a temptation to include preconceived
solutions as objectives and this is cheating. There is also a
much needed discipline to devise objectives that are
achievable and are measurable."
OBJECTIVES REFERENCES
Chapter 4, "What Values? Whose Objectives",
In Heywood, Phil (1974), Planning and Human Need, New
York: Praeger.
Chapter 6, "Goal Formulation: Identifying Objectives", In
McLoughlin, J. Brian (1970), Urban and Regional Planning: a
systems approach, London: Faber.
Both Books are in the QUT/GP Library

VALLEYS:
DESIGN #12 Valleys concentrate runoff from side slopes and

direct the flow towards creeks and rivers.
Ascending contours point uphill.
Understanding the three-
dimensional character of land
(topography) is vital for landscape
designers.
BASIC LANDFORMS
An essential skill for the landscape architect is the ability to
read contour plans and maps to interpret landforms, which in
turn is fundamental to designing (modifying or creating) new
landforms. There are six basic landforms: ridges, valleys,
knolls (or summits), concave slopes, convex slopes and
depressions.
KNOLLS or SUMMITS:Enclosing contours ascend

to a high point identified by a spot level or altitude.
RIDGES:Ridges separate runoff in two directions and Runoff is in all directions.
therefore are primary determinants of catchments.
Descending contours point downhill on ridges.

CONCAVE SLOPES: DEPRESSIONS:
Normally located in the lower slopes of hilly Enclosing contours descend to a low point
landforms. The ascending contours become more identified by a spot level or altitude.
closely spaced as the gradient increases. Runoff is into in the depression in all directions.
Runoff is at right angles to the contours
CONVEX SLOPES:
Normally located in the upper slopes of hilly
landforms. The ascending contours become more
widely spaced as the gradient decreases. Runoff is
at right angles to the contours
FUTURE STUDY:
More detailed understanding of landform will be covered in
the GRADING module of DLB430 'Landscape Construction 1
unit.

Special Types of Detail Design Landform Design
DESIGN #13 3 ways of understanding / designing landform:

• by drawing contour lines & sections [2D]
• by clay (or other material) modelling [3D]
EFFECTIVE DESIGN relies on good • by computer modelling [2D & 3D]
resource management: time, [Turner 1996:166-167]
materials, information, people, etc.
Special Types of Detail Design Surface Water Design
STUDIO CRAFT • Surface water = about drainage
• water runs downhill !
"All outdoor surfaces must be laid to falls."
• waterproof surfaces (stone/concrete paving in
The following lists are the wise work of British landscape British/Australian public parks)
architecture teacher and writer Tom Turner. • absorbent surfaces (e.g. mulched garden beds, gravel
paving in French public parks)
SUMMARY of TOPICS SUSTAINABLE DESIGN = retain & reuse, don't waste it!
• WORKING PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN [Turner 1996:167-8]
• WHEN YOU GET STUCK IN A DESIGN!
• SPECIAL TYPES OF DESIGN: landform, surface water,
planting, construction Special Types of Detail Design Planting Design
• TYPES OF PRESENTATION Planting Design is not just a planting layout plan…
• WAYS TO RUIN A PROJECT! Planting Strategies = design objectives + planting techniques
+ management tasks.
Key Questions:
7 Design Working Principles • What do you wish to achieve?
(1) 'Consult the Genius of the Place' • How do you intend to achieve objectives?
= first law of landscape planning & design. • How will the planting change in time?
(2) Make places that are good from as many points of view • What management operations are you committing the
as possible: client to? [Turner 1996:166-7]
e.g. social, functional, artistic, spiritual, economic,
climatic, hydrological, ecological, etc.
(3) Work with your clients. Special Types of Detail Design Construction Design
(4) Proceed good design with good planning. How to learn about it…
(5) Design SPACE before MASS. • look at built examples of good design
(6) Use materials only of the best quality. • build things yourself
(7) Learn from the work of painters, sculptors, architects,
• talk to & watch craftworkers work
poets, musicians, philosophers, novelists, etc
• study trade catalogues, journals & books
[Turner 1996:172]
• listen to lectures on construction!
[Turner 1996:169]
12 things to try if you get stuck ...
(1) Turn the page upside-down!
(2) Switch to a different drawing! Some Types of Presentation
(3) Use light upon dark! • EXISTING SITE DRAWING
(4) Use process instead of product! • APPRAISAL / ANALYSIS DRAWING
(5) Start from a different base! (what's good & bad about site; but AVOID the 'battle
(6) Stop drawing and make a model! plan' look !)
(7) Take Humphry Repton's advice: • CONCEPT SHEETS: circulation + spatial + landform +
'make the plan on the spot'! land + use + design + materials
(8) Take Geoffrey Jellicoe's advice: • IMAGE SHEETS
'look somewhere else – art books, TV...'! (visual images of design, especially of archetypes)
(9) Take Mies van der Rohe's advice: • PHOTOMONTAGE
'God is in the details'! • COLLAGE
(10) Postcarding: draw at tiny scale to fit on postcard! • MODELS, etc.. [Turner 1996:161-6]
(11) Assemble a brainstorming group!
(12) Soothe mind by soothing body:
garden, walk, yoga, bath! [Turner 1996:172-4]

13 ways to RUIN a project !
(1) Only nerds waste time reading studio programs: always
get others to tell what is required!
(2) Wait a few weeks before starting work...
(3) Draw / work as little as possible in studio...
(4) Try to complete the design before looking at site or
relief map...
(5) Be a perfectionist: don't draw a line until you are sure,
avoid paper waste...
(6) Avoid scales, north points, cross-sections, contours...
(7) Keep nose close to drawing board – never look at work
from distance
(8) Leave presentation work until the last minute...
(9) Keep the same drawing line weight through-out...
(10) If labelling MUST be done – choose an obscure, hard to
read type-face
(11) In oral presentations, apologise for poor standard of
work, mumble, avoid eye contact, ramble & say 'um' a
lot...
(12) Never pay attention to what tutors say…
(13) Always remember that 'maestro' designers don't worry
about costs, clients, practicalities, the health of the
environment, etc. [Turner 1996:174-5
Finally...
• Use these notes for reference – now & forever!!
• watch out for (& AVOID) the classic errors in designing &
presenting !
• try out some innovative presentation techniques !
Remember, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!
END.
Studio Craft REFERENCE:
Turner, Tom (1996), Chapter 14 "Studio Craft" in City as

Landscape, London: E & FN Spon, pp.154-175.

Basic DESIGN
REFERENCES
Motloch, John L. (2001).
Itten, Johannes (1975). Design and Form: The Basic Course of the Introduction to Landscape Design, 2nd edition.
Bauhaus and Later. Revised edition. New York: John Wiley. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Koberg, Don and Bagnall, Jim (1991). The Universal Traveller: a
Soft-Systems Guide to Creativity, Problem-Solving, & the
Process of Reaching Goals. Menlo Park, CA; Crisp Learning. CONTENTS
Lawson, Bryan (2000). How Designers Think: the design process
demystified. 3rd edition. London: Architectural Press. PART 1: CONCEPTS and OVERVIEW
Motloch, John L. (2001). Introduction to Landscape Design, 2nd Chapter 1: Landscape Meanings
edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 1.1 Method of Study
Papanek, Victor (1972). Design for the Real World. London: 1.2 Meanings
Thames and Hudson. 1.3 Axioms for Reading the Landscape
Papanek, Victor (2000). Design for the Real World: Human Ecology
1.4 Landscape Interpretation
and Social Change. 2 nd edition. London: Thames and Hudson.
Chapter 2: Peoples, Attitudes, and Perceptions
Simonds, John O. (2006). Landscape Architecture: A Manual of
Environmental Planning and Design, 4 rd edition, New York:
2.1 The Basis of Design
McGraw-Hill. [Also see electronic copy online via QUT library] 2.2 Traditions of Express
2.3 Landscape Implications
Turner, Tom (1996). City as Landscape: A Post-Postmodern View
of Design and Planning. London: E & FN Spon. 2.4 Systems Thinking
2.5 Landscape Design in the Twenty-First Century
Waterman, Tim (2009). The Fundamentals of Landscape
Architecture. Lausanne, Switzerland: Ava Publishing SA.
Chapter 3: Education and Design Thinking
3.1 Learning and Education
3.2 Mechanics of the Mind
3.3 Design Thinking
3.4 Generations of Design Processes
3.5 Status of Landscape Design Education
3.6 Design Influences, Contemporary Practice, and the
Future
PART 2: DESIGN INFLUENCES

Chapter 4: Landscape Process
4.1 Ecological Forces
4.2 Landscape Form and Pattern Recognition
4.3 Geologic Processes
4.4 Soil-Forming Processes
4.5 Biologic Processes
4.6 Form as Expression of Force, Material, and Time
4.7 Regional Landscapes
4.8 Spirit of Place
4.9 Structure and Infrastructure
Chapter 5: Available Resources and Technology

5.1 Land and Landform
5.2 Water
5.3 Plants
5.4 Construction Materials, Technology, and System
Performance
Chapter 6: Sensual Aspects of Perception

6.1 Perceptual-Cognitive Process
6.2 Simple and Complex (Interactive) Perception
6.3 Stimuli and Mental Patterns
6.4 Visual and Spatial Perception
6.5 Stimuli, Human Interaction, and Security
6.6 Stimuli and Symbolic Meanings
6.7 Stimuli and Social Conditioning
6.8 Physiological Comfort
6.9 Designing Appropriate Stimuli

Chapter 7: Temporal Aspects of Perception PART 4: THE FUTURE
7.1 Temporal Aspects of Landscape Chapter 16: An Ecology of Design
7.2 Space-Time Relationships 16.1 Brief History of People / Natural Systems Relationships
7.3 Cultural Attitudes Concerning Time 16.2 Turning Point
7.4 Temporal Frame of Reference 16.3 Global Need for an Ecology of Design
7.5 Time, Technology, and Economics 16.4 Reconnecting People to Systems
7.6 Time and Perception 16.5 Tenets of an Ecology of Design
7.7 Time and Distance 16.6 Current State
7.8 Movement and Perception 16.7 An Integrative Model
7.9 Temporal Paradox 16.8 Planning and Design for a Just World
7.10 Design as an Expression of Time 16.9 Ecological Design Profession
7.11 Design ad Response to Rate of Movement
7.12 Design and Rate of Change Chapter 17: Landscape Design Education
7.13 Design as Temporal Networks 17.1 Education Paradigm
7.14 Temporal Aspects of Design Processes 17.2. Landscape Design Education
17.3 University-based Education
Chapter 8: Visual Arts as Ordering Mechanism 17.4 K-12 Education
8.1 Elements of Visual Form 17.5 Land Design Centres, Institutes, and Labs
8.2 Principles of Visual Form 17.6 Regenerative Design for a Positive Future.
8.3 Design Intent
Chapter 9: Geometry as Ordering Mechanism

9.1 Euclidean Geometry
9.2 Geometry in Nature finis
Chapter 10: Circulation as Ordering Mechanism
10.1 Pedestrian Circulation
10.2 Truck and Automobile Circulation
10.3 Bus Transit
10.4 Rail Transport
10.5 Air and Water Transport
Chapter 11:Spatial Development

11.1 Spatial Perception
11.2 Sense of Place
11.3 Spatial Design
Chapter 12: Architecture and Site Development

12.1 Site Design Intent
12.2 Architectural Morphology
12.3 Built-Site Synergisms
Chapter 13: Placemaking and Community-Building

13.1 Place Perception
13.2 Placemaking
13.3 Community-Building
PART 3: CONTEMPORARY DESIGN APPLICATION

Chapter 14: Professional Practice
14.1 Levels of Decision-Making
14.2 Interrelationships of Planning and Design Professions
14.3 Planning and Design Methods
14.4 Current modes of Practice
14.5 Recent Landscape Design Paradigms
14.6 Land Development and Land Management
14.7 Professional Ethics / Responsibilities
14.8 Project Types
14.9 Digital Applications in Landscape Design
Chapter 15: Site Design as Problem-Solving

15.1 Commonality of Design Processes
15.2 Design Processes and Landscape Architecture

2012designNOTES PDF

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

2012designNOTES PDF

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

This is the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for pub-

lication in the following source:

Sim, Jean C. Design basics : an introduction to rudimentary design ideas

This file was downloaded from: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/59034/

c Copyright 2013 Jean Sim

Published internally to QUT as a digital document available from Black-

Notice: Changes introduced as a result of publishing processes such as

by Dr. Jean Sim

How to use this book

This little booklet is also a handy reference tool – a

Motloch, John L. (2001).

On the other hand, if you want to know more about

Waterman, Tim (2009).

Who should use this

© Jean Sim 2012

ii Design Basics 2012

Design Basics 2012 iii

Bertram, Anthony (1938). Design. Harmondsworth,

Papanek, Victor (1972). Design for the Real World:

Papanek, Victor (2000). Design for the Real World:

iv Design Basics 2012

DESIGN TOOLS = Visual elements +

VISUAL ARTS as Ordering

Exploring the Visual Elements

The designer can manipulate Visual Elements to meet

Design Basics 2012 1

= mirror images about an axis or axes.

Asymmetrical balance = aka. Informal balance:

Exploring the Design Principles

Design Principles govern the manipulation of visual elements

VARIETY provides interest.

Design Basics 2012 3

(1) Dimensional patterns

3 DIMENSIONAL = volumes, for example…

spherical / tubular / drum

4 DIMENSIONAL = time & movement, for example…

Source of image: REFERENCES

Note arch rhythm, like a bouncing ball.

DESIGN #2 Rectilinear-Angular Composites:

Designers source ideas and Rectilinear-Circular Composites:

Design Basics 2012 5

[Colorado River system image: Rowland 1971:80]

[Radius of curvature images: Thompson 1971:177]

[Nautilus image: Thompson 1971:173]

[Electrical discharge image: Rowland 1971:81]

[Haliotis Image: Thompson 1971:186]

[Sheep's horn image: Thompson 1971:209]

6 Design Basics 2012

It all depends on how you measure it!

Natural Systems have a fractional dimension.

WHAT IS FRACTAL GEOMETRY?

Design Basics 2012 7

[Chick 2000: Slide 18]

[Chick 2000: Slide 17]

8 Design Basics 2012

CENTRED HEXAGONAL NUMBERS etc. A hexomino is a shape formed by joining 6 squares

Design Basics 2012 9

DESIGN #3 Kinds of spatial impact… [Simonds 1997:179-181]

There are more visual aspects for a

Site Volumes, Visual Landscape

(A) SITE VOLUMES or SPACES...

[Simonds 1997: 177-215]

CHARACTER OF SPACE CAN CREATE…